Day 29: Packing

Today we cleaned. Then we packed. Then we cleaned some more. We spent the whole day getting ready to go. Everyone else was packing to go home. I was packing to travel some more. I was a little jealous of everyone that gets to go home, but at the same time, not at all. I’m excited to get the next adventure started. Austin and I haven’t seen a whole lot of each other on this trip, which I think will turn out to be a good thing. It means I’m not tired of him yet, nor him of me.

We went into London to see a movie tonight since we had a little bit of free time. I saw World War Z. Soundtrack, incredible. Movie itself, pretty good. It would have been better if I hadn’t been so stressed out the whole time; it’s an intense movie. It was a long day, but the last one. Tomorrow morning all of the art students are leaving at 5:45 to get to the airport. The youth ministry students leave at 8. Austin and I haven’t decided when we’re going to leave yet. We are fairly certain we’re going to church in town. We like to keep our options open.

It has been a long trip. It was good at times. It was bad at times. It was amazing at times. It was stressful at times. Overall it was a fabulous experience. I’m so glad that I’ve had the opportunity to come over here and work with YWAM. Now, onward to more adventure!

Day 28: Home Stretch

Today went by fast. We got up and learned that there was still some work that needed to be done. But not everyone had work to do, so some of us watched videos while others finished up the work. Me and the other guys on the team cleaned up the building we have been staying in after lunch. The youth ministry students have been doing most of the cleaning since we’ve been so busy. So I’m sure they enjoyed a break from cleaning. Snaking the drains in the showers was my least favorite part. I’m pretty sure I was cleaning the women’s bathroom, cause there was a lot of hair. After that we hopped on a train into London. Max wanted to find fake Ray Bans so we went to the market. Everything was starting to close down by the time we got there, so we were able to get dinner for cheap. We got our fake sunglasses and wandered around for a little before heading back to campus. When we got back we discovered our room ransacked. Some of the girls apparently thought it would be funny to make a mess of our room. Needless to say, we didn’t find it quite as jocular as they did. After some searching and straightening up everything got put back in place. We only have a few days left here before we head out. This month has gone by crazy fast. I’ve learned so much and can see some of the things I have learned very clearly, some I hope I will see later down the road. I’m just ready to get to traveling with Austin at this point. Especially since the work is all done. I’m getting antsy.

Day 27: Oxford

So today we went to Oxford, and it was incredible. We went to The Eagle and Child, the place where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien would meet and talk about what they were writing. It was so cool to be in that place. Right when we walked in there was a quote dialog between Merry and Pippin. The burger that I had was absolutely amazing as well. It was massive and mouthwateringly tasty (yep, it’s a word).

After lunch we met up with a guy studying at Oxford right now. One of the guys in the group knows him from back home. He took us around and showed us the different libraries and colleges. I have officially studied theology and Oxford. I read part of a theology book in one of the libraries. We saw an exhibit of original notes and illustrations by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. That was pretty cool. After talking with this guy for a while I found out that his tutors for class include Ravi Zacharias and John Lennox. That was really cool to hear. Oxford is just a really cool place.

Next we went to a restaurant and had High Tea Time. It’s basically tea time but more fancy. It was really cool. The tea was good and we each had some tiny little sandwiches and cakes. It was very British. It was a wonderful day.

Day 26: Sleep!

The day started with sleeping in. It was wonderful! We are finally done! We had the day off. We had nothing planned and could do what ever we wanted. So I chose to sleep in. So much so that by the time I got up all of the hot water was gone, so I had to wait a while to shower. The day was very relaxing. I spent a good portion of it tossing around a disc with the guys. After doing absolutely nothing for most of the day, me and the other guys headed into St Albans for the evening. We walked around to different shops. We checked out some stores and even a thrift store. We got dinner in St Albans also. We came back to the YWAM campus full and content. We spent the night lounging around and doing different things. I had a good talk with some of the people from the group and there was also movie watching and card games happening.

The other exciting thing that happened is that Austin and I booked our tickets to Paris. We have a lot of planning to do still but we have our flight and our first three nights in France figured out. And today I bought some pants that’ll be great for climbing, so I’m pretty much all ready to go.

Day 25: We’re not done?

We spent the morning scrambling to get everything done for our presentation. Then we spent the afternoon scrambling to get things done to show the community tonight. And now we’re scrambling to get everything completely done so that we can have a free day tomorrow. We’re all operating on little sleep so this could get interesting. It’s down to a skeleton crew now. Finalizing and mocking up everything we’ve done so we can hand it over to the client. We all had an individual meeting with our profs today where they evaluated our performance over the last month. Everything is coming to a close here; at least work wise. We still have a couple days left that are going to be devoted to sightseeing. This time went by so fast. A lot has happened. A lot has been learned. Austin and I still need to finalize our plans for after the trip. Actually we need to finalize/plan everything. I’m excited, but haven’t really had time to plan since we’ve been so busy. Ok back to work. Peace!

Day 24: Crunch Time

Today when we got up we expected to have two days to finish up our final presentations. At 8:30am we were told we have 24 hours to be completely finished…with everything. Crap. So we have been working straight from then until now. That’s fifteen hours straight; with meal and bathroom breaks thrown in the mix. I still have at least a couple hours of work left before I can even think about going to bed. Everything has come together quite nicely. It has been such a long day but so much has gotten done. Everyone has been working hard all day and it’s cool to watch everything come together. Everyone was working on a small part and seeing it come together to the whole is a lot of fun. Today I edited all of the images for around the reception area and I also have done quite a bit of work on the App. All of the images are done; the app is still in the works. I designed some of the app and I’ve been working on making it interactive for most of the day. Jay, one of my housemates this upcoming year, is working on tweaking the pages and once he’s done he’ll give them to me so I can put them all together and make everything work. The interactivity isn’t super impressive. I’m just linking all the pages and making sure all of the buttons in the app work and do what they’re supposed to do.

One thing that has been so cool is the youth ministry students. There were a couple of them around today and they were nothing but encouraging. Every time we saw them today they would ask if we needed anything. They kept coming into our workspace and asking if we wanted tea or coffee. They even brought us some candy tonight. I am so glad that they came on this trip. I’ve been so blessed by them and have loved getting to know them, especially the guys. The second night we were here it felt like I’d known them for a lifetime. They are encouraging in everything they do. Even just listening to their stories of what God has been doing in them while they’ve been here has been a blessing.

Today was so mentally draining and stressful. There were several points where I was on the brink of going crazy. It was five-minute breaks of throwing a disc around that kept me sane. When I was younger my mom had me and my siblings memorize scripture. The passage that has stuck with me the most comes from James, the first chapter of James to be exact. “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” This passage has stuck with me through my entire life. Sometimes I really don’t like James. It’s a very good passage to think about though. I could use some extra patience for long days like today. It’s funny how God works. Right at the point when I was most frustrated that passage popped into my head. I just repeated, “count it all joy” over and over in my head. He definitely gave me an attitude check. Today has been pretty exciting. I’ve been able to see what an actual design firm is like the day before a proposal, pretty freaking crazy.

Well, I’m going to see if there’s anything else I can be getting done. I’ve taken enough of a break to write this. I think I’ll make myself some tea. I hope you all have a wonderful day and that God teaches you something today; cause it’s pretty cool when He does.

Day 23: Rest?

Today we went to a park in St. Albans in the morning where there were ruins of a Roman city. St. Albans is a city south of Harpenden that is quite a bit bigger than Harpenden. You could see where the towers and gate of the old Roman city were, and some of the wall was still up. It was crazy to think about the fact that the Romans were here, and that we still can see their ruins. The cool thing is that the Roman city was about the same size as present day St. Albans. One of our Profs gave a devotion under a couple big trees in the park. He talked about Paul and his missionary journeys. It was a nice little pep talk.

For lunch we ate at the oldest pub in England. It was called Ye Olde Fighting Cocks. I had lamb; it was delicious. We also checked out the nearby cathedral. After that we came back and started up on work. Me and a couple other people shot the carnival/fair that was happening on campus. It was put together for the community as an outreach effort. There was music, food, a bouncy castle, and even a dog show. Everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun. Today we got kicked out of the room we’ve been working in for the past three weeks. So we’ve set up shop in another room here on campus.

I’m ready for a break. We haven’t had a real rest for a while now. It seems like our days off have been as hectic as our workdays. And I haven’t had good alone time since I arrived here, which isn’t good for an introvert. Only a couple more days of crazy busyness and then we can take a break!

Day 22: Wales

Today we woke up early and took a three-hour bus ride to Cardiff, Wales. It was strange being in a place that didn’t speak English, and for that other language to not be Spanish. We went to a museum there that had quite a bit of interesting art. It had some modern art that made me question why we paid to see it, but there were also some good pieces, don’t worry. There were several paintings by Monet and several sculptures by Rodin. There were many other works by big important artists but those are the ones that stuck out to me the most. I know I’ve said it already, but I’m going to say it again. I love seeing art in person that I’ve studied in books. It’s incredible! To walk up to a work and be able to identify the artist, without ever having seen it in person, is crazy awesome.

After the museum we visited a real life castle. It was cool to see one in person. It wasn’t as cool as it could have been because it was in the middle of a city with modern buildings all around, but it was still a castle. So yeah, super cool! My buddies and I “stormed the Keep.” It was really cool to be in the castle and to imagine what it would have been like to live there. I probably would have shoveled a lot of horse poop; so basically my childhood. There were several tents of people dressed to the period. They were cooking, metalworking, playing instruments, and such things as that. We also watched a joust at the castle. If you have ever been to Knight Times, it reminded me a lot of that, except it was at a castle! The coolest part of the jousting was the fact that the castle Keep was in the background the whole time. It was a very cool experience.

I haven’t done this yet but I have a prayer request. My little sister left for Florida yesterday for a mission’s trip. She’ll be doing two weeks of boot camp there before heading to Madagascar for a month. So she could use your prayers; for safety, perseverance, and patience. Well Mom and Dad, two of your kids are off on mission’s trips in different parts of the world at the same time. High five! But seriously, pray.

Day 21: Sebastião Salgado

Today we worked in the morning and headed into London after lunch. In London we went to the natural history museum for a photography exhibit there. The photographer was Sebastião Salgado. The series that was being shown is named Genesis. The aim of the exhibit was for him to show the world in a primitive state, how it was before civilization. It was some of the most incredible photography I have ever seen. The landscapes, the nature, the animals, the isolated tribes, it was unbelievable. It was the best photography exhibit I think I have ever seen.

After that we all went on the London Eye as a group. We went right after sunset but before it was super dark. It was amazing seeing the city from that far up. Also, I’m apparently much better with heights than some of the people in the group. It was a long day but it went by very fast.

Day 20: Thai

Today the App team and I did a lot of work figuring out the front end of the app we’re making. We mostly figured out what it will look like and also the layout. We haven’t really starting designing it yet, we have started concepting for it though. We spent a large chunk of the day researching into iOS app creation. There are a lot of guidelines and specifications. It was really cool to look that stuff up and learn about it.

A few of us went to a Thai place for dinner tonight. I was reminded how I feel about Thai food, It’s pretty meh. It was a mentally exhausting and frustrating day. So I went long boarding to get away for a while. The roads aren’t the best where we are though, so I couldn’t even slide. Long boarding was a definite fail. Max got good video of me wiping out. On another note, Ferdinand, one of my fish back in Arkansas, has perished. He will be shortly remembered, for he was only a fish. He was a pretty cool looking fish though. As long as Reginald survives I’ll be good. It was a frustrating day, but thanks to Max helping me with something it ended on a very high note.

The trip is at a weird point right now. Everyone is getting tired of each other. There is some confusion as to what each person’s job is within the bigger project. People are tired and frustrated with the work we’ve been doing. One thing brought up today is that we aren’t doing what we thought we would be doing. We originally thought we’d be developing and designing a fund raising strategy for the campus, we definitely haven’t been doing that. I think alone time is key at this point. I just hope that others can find some alone time too.

Day 19: Getting Back To It

Today we got back to work. We were split up into groups for the morning. We were given assignments to go and get some photos around the compound. After lunch we were each assigned roles for the rest of our time here. I am on the App team; we will be designing the YWAM Harpenden App. I am also in charge of lighting for photo stuff and will be doing some comp photos of the space we’re designing.

After work today my buddy Max and I shot our other buddy Austin. We had him do some skateboard tricks and I set up a couple flashes while Max took some video. It was a lot of fun doing some personal work. All we’ve been shooting is nature and street photography. It felt great to do something with a little more of a commercial feel. After that we went up to dinner. After dinner we came back down and Austin and I did a little climbing on the tiny climbing wall they have here. It wasn’t anything spectacular but it felt good to at least climb a little. I’m going to try and make that more of a regular thing to get in some training before Fontainebleau, which is where Austin and I are going climbing after the trip.

It’s crazy to think there are only ten days left here in Harpenden. It has gone bye so fast, but also very slow. Things go slow as they are happening, but when I look back, it has gone by fast. I have been learning a lot while here. It is strange to look at how much I have learned through this experience already. I feel like I have even changed in this short time. Certain events have the power to change a person and I feel as though that has happened to me. But I’m still here experiencing this, so it is a strange feeling. I’m so thankful I am here and I am so thankful to everyone that helped get me here. The Lord is teaching me a lot, some of which I can’t believe. I never thought in a million years that He would teach me some of the things I’ve been learning. I can see the culmination of numerous smaller lessons into this grand one. And I love Him dearly for His lessons.

Day 15-18: Ireland

The first day we were in Ireland we were all super tired. We didn’t get to bed until one thirty AM and had to wake up at three thirty for our flight, so two hours of sleep. We spent the day trying to stay awake. We walked around and tried to stay awake. We rode the bus and tried to stay awake. Eventually we checked into our Hostel and fell asleep. After a few hours of naptime we got up and got dinner. After dinner we walked around Dublin and explored the city. It got fairly cold and starting misting/raining at night. We got back to the Hostel and took a much-needed rest. We were woken up a few times from our unknown roommates coming in around three thirty in the morning.

The second day we got a bit of a late start. After breakfast we hopped on a bus and went to Bray, a small coastal town south of Dublin. We explored the beach for a while and took pictures. We found a sweet little gelato place right on the beach and arrived at heaven. It was so amazing I couldn’t believe it. We wandered around the town for a while and eventually hopped on a train back to Dublin. From there we took a train to Belfast, Northern Ireland. The food is so cheap in Belfast; it’s wonderful! Dublin was expensive so it was nice to have a break for my wallet. The second Hostel was so much better than the first. It was slightly less clean but the people were much better and the hostel itself had much more character. Every one was very friendly and talkative. It’s great to meet people from different places, and with different accents.

The third day we went on what’s called a Black Taxi Tour. It was a tour around Belfast, specifically focused on the Catholic/Protestant conflict. The cab driver was driving his cab while the violence was at its height; it was cool to learn about everything from someone around during the conflict. He would pull over by murals and sites of significance and hop in the back with us to tell us all about what happened and what each mural meant. There is a giant wall separating the catholic and the protestant sides of the city. The wall was at least twenty-five feet high and extended for three miles. It’s crazy that things like this are still happening. Some say the violence will never end; it just takes about twenty year lulls. The people on each side of the wall aren’t even religious, most of them are atheist, but they’re still separated into protestant and catholic. We also tried to get to the G8 summit to shoot the protestors (with our cameras). But to even get there you had to sign up a month ago, and there were only four tents of protestors. Turns out the Irish riot police are well known for aiming at protestor’s heads with rubber bullets. It deters most of the anarchists and protestors from coming.

The last day was spent walking to bus stations and going to an art museum. The museum was called The Mac. All of the exhibits were photographic which was cool. We walked through the museum and then walked some more and then walked some more. We caught our flight back to the compound where I am now, typing all of this up. It was a good weekend. We met some really great people and we had a chance to get some rest. The Irish countryside is absolutely gorgeous. It was definitely a trip that I will never forget.

Day 14: Tourism

Today we presented our tweaked presentations to the client. We had a few hours left beforehand to fine-tune them. We changed a couple things and fixed a couple things in our presentation. Overall it was good. For lunch we had Domino’s pizza, kind of lame I know, but it actually tasted different from Domino’s at home. We headed out for the rest of the day to London. We all went together to a restaurant downtown. I had a meat pie, cause apparently that’s an English thing. We split up into smaller groups from there. My group went towards Parliament. We rode our first double decker bus. We also saw Big Ben, now called Elizabeth Tower. We saw the London Eye in the distance as well. It was good to do touristy things. Now we’re back at the compound getting ready for our free weekend. We get about four days off to travel around. The three other art guys and I are going to Ireland for the break. We’re hitting up Dublin for a night and then taking a train to Belfast for two nights. After we get back from that we’re going to work our butts off. I might not update for a few days since I don’t know what my internet access will look like, or if I’ll even have access.

Day 13: Follicles

Sorry this one is late, our internet went out yesterday and we just got it back tonight.

Today was a good day. We presented our concepts for the entry space in the main visitor building on campus. My group went last and I discovered that I don’t like going last. My group’s presentation was the best out of all four, but don’t worry, I had nothing to do with it. Our Profs had bad things to say about all of the presentations too, so it wasn’t perfect or anything. Since we finished our presentation we’ve been working diligently on making them better for tomorrow. We are presenting to our client tomorrow so they have to be professional caliber. We also reshot our last photo for the project we started last week. We turn in all of the edited photos tomorrow. After we present tomorrow we’re pretty much done for the week, which will be nice.

Today two of the other seniors and me were put on a team together to develop an App for the WYAM base here. It will be for smart phones and tablets. We haven’t started work on it yet, but I think it’ll be exciting. As far as I know we won’t be doing the actual coding. What we’ll be doing is designing the front end of the app. We will design what it looks like and each of the different pages. We’ll also design what the interactive elements will look like. I’m excited to start working on that project.

So today I went into town and got a haircut, actually I got all of them cut. They cut off a good six inches or more. I was tired of having long hair. It always gets in the way and it always gets gross if I ever skip a shower, I don’t know how you ladies do it! Also I thought it was time to go back to the haircut of my youth; the comb over. That’s right dad; we match again! Also, I am so stinking happy with my hair it’s ridiculous. I love short hair, and I lasted longer with long hair than I thought I would. It was a long (get it, long) adventure. And if you want to see it, check out Facebook; there’s a before and after floating around in the interwebs. The only real complaint I have about it is that my ears are cold.

I’d like to give a shout out to a special lady in my life. It’s my mother’s birthday today. From the very beginning I’ve given her trouble, especially with the whole trying to die at birth thing. She’s put up with a lot over the years and usually does it with a smile. She’s one of the most caring and loving people I know, and she’s also one of the best cooks too! She has made it difficult to find someone that is wife material because I’ve seen what a great mother and wife looks like, and that’s not easy to find. I love you dearly and look forward to the next time I will see you. Happy birthday!

Day 12: Brain Dead

Today was a bit of a break for me mentally. I started by skipping breakfast and sleeping in until nine. It was glorious. I finished editing the photos from the project last week, which is a large amount of stress that ended. We spent the day before lunch working in our groups getting presentations ready for tomorrow. We’ll be presenting our concept for an interior space here in the main building where the offices and café are. We also presented our group ideas for the prayer walk in the woods today. It was nice for my mind to not be freaking out the whole day. It feels good to slow it down a little. We’re still working on a lot of projects but my brain doesn’t realize it, so that’s nice.

It was nice to put some of the things I’ve learned here to practice. Things such as, don’t question the creative/art director. Things like that have been a bit difficult to get the hang of. I don’t mouth off or anything, I just like to insert my opinion, which usually conflicts. It’s been a very humbling experience. I’m glad I’m actually learning from this trip and not just sweeping my experiences under the rug. It’s definitely a different type of learning than I thought it would be. But it’s very good. Today was also very exciting in the realm of my personal work. My buddy Max and I figured out some cool stuff for the future, which I’m super pumped about.

One thing I realized I’ve missed here is a day of rest. We had three days off from work, but they were just as busy and full of things as the workdays. God gave us a day of rest and I need to find a time to rest. I also need to find time to spend with God. My time and relationship with Him has been lacking since I’ve been here. We’re so busy that it’s hard to find time for Him, but I need to put aside that time. I think it would really help.

Sorry I’ve been posting short lately, my brain is fairly decimated. Oh one thing I did want to say that I forgot the other day. When we visited Salisbury Cathedral, I licked it. That is all. Goodnight. Oh oh, I’m super tired of my hair too, and I wore yellow pants today. Ok, peace out!

Day 11: Design

We started working on the big design project today. It was mostly brainstorming and research. I’m also still working on the photos from last week. It was another mentally draining day. There is a lot happening and I wish I could tell you what all that is, but my brain doesn’t have the capacity to work it all out right now. I just wanted to give you a little something from the day. It was a long day.

I had a cup of tea, which was wonderful. I played some volleyball, which was short and I did less than wonderful. I had a good talk with some of the guys tonight and figured out what to do to resolve some conflict. So I’m going to be figuring that out in the next couple days. Also, I really want a haircut. Sorry for the short post, like I said, it was a long day.

Day 10: Beauty in the Simple

Today was our last day off before jumping back into work. We woke up at six in the morning and were ready to leave by six thirty. We all hopped on a bus and a little over two hours later we arrived at Stonehenge. It was pretty cool to see in person, but also somewhat disappointing. Some things, like the Grand Canyon, you have to see in person. You see photos, and in person it’s so much better, Stonehenge isn’t really like that. I feel as though it is as impressive in photographs as it is in real life. I’m still very glad I got to see it, but it was a bunch of big rocks. I’m sure there are those that would staunchly disagree with me, however.

After Stonehenge we went to Salisbury Cathedral. So very good. This is a cathedral I have literally studied before. I’ve studied photos and even paintings of this cathedral for years now. It was so amazing to see it in person. I would compare my experience of Salisbury Cathedral to that of the Grand Canyon, it is better in real life. The spire is so tall it’s ridiculous. The size of the cathedral as a whole is extremely impressive. Another thing that is so impressive about this particular cathedral is that it was built in thirty-eight years, so unlike many other cathedrals, it only has the elements of one architectural movement; and now I feel like a nerd.

For lunch I tried some authentic English fish and chips, not my favorite thing about the day. To salvage my lunch I stopped by a bakery and everything was all right in the end. From there we went to Lacock Abbey and Fox Talbot Museum. It was an abbey that is fairly rich in history, but the main attraction is the fact that this is where William Henry Fox Talbot created the first photographic negative. Another distinguishing factor about the abbey is that parts of several of the Harry Potter movies were filmed there. And just down the street in the small town is where Harry Potter’s house from Godric’s Hollow is. So that small little town definitely has its claim to fame in a couple different ways.

We ended the day with dinner in downtown Harpenden. It was a long day and the bus made me sleepy every time I was on it. With all of the busyness and running around of the day, it was easy to get lost in it all, but one of my favorite moments of the day didn’t involve grand ornate architecture, or mysterious stone structures. One of my favorite moments of the day came from listening to Beirut and Alexi Murdoch while watching the English countryside roll past with all of the green and yellow. It rains here quite a bit, or so I’ve heard, so everything is green, and there are also fields and fields of what seems like endless yellow flowers. The flowers are grown for rapeseed to make cooking oil. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever had the blessing of seeing. It’s funny that at the end of the day, I saw centuries of man made buildings, some of which are so grand and beautiful it left me in awe. But the grand works of man aren’t what I remember best; it was the simple beauty of yellow as far as the eye can see. It wasn’t in the exciting and grand commotion; it was the calm and subtle beauty that caught my eye the most.

Day 9: Tired Feet

Today we spent the day in London again. We went to St. Paul’s Cathedral for church this morning. It was my first time at an Anglican church. It was also my first time drinking booze in church. For their communion they use actual wine, wine is gross, I definitely don’t like it. The service was very good. It definitely was not Baptist, the sermon was only about ten minutes. It was a liturgical service, which is good because I like liturgical services. There were lots of robes involved. The cathedral itself was the most impressive building I think I’ve ever been in, or at least close to it. Since we were there for the actual church service we weren’t allowed to take pictures. The cathedral was not only a massive building; it was ornately decorated with statues and gold leaf engravings. It was cool to see architecture like this in person. I’ve studied buildings like this for years and it’s nice to finally see one of them in person.

After church we went to a modern art museum, Tate Modern. There were some really cool exhibits there. There were also some really stupid pieces there, or at least I think so. It was very cool to be able to see, in person, some of the art that I’ve studied. It was exhilarant walking around the corner and seeing a Piet Mondrian painting. I’m so familiar with his paintings, which isn’t a large accomplishment, that I instantly recognized it. There were also several installments by Dan Flavin that were exciting to see. It’s strange to see art that I recognize, but have never seen in person. There were numerous other artists that I could go on and on about, but I will refrain. Outside the museum there was a guy making huge bubbles. That was extremely exciting also.

We had to be back at the compound by seven for dinner, so with what time we had left we went shopping. We went to a place called Primark. It is only in the UK and I have known about it for a couple of years. They don’t have an online store so you can only get clothes from there while over here. I’ve heard good things about it so I thought I would check it out. The clothes are pretty cool and the prices are cooler. The day did not seem as long as the last few ones have, but my feet feel like it was still a long day. I’m getting pretty good at navigating the Underground too, which is pretty cool. Now for a night full of relaxing and photo editing, and away I go!

Day 8: London Adventures

Today was a vacation day. We didn’t do any work; we only did touristy activities. We all went to downtown London today. We started at London Bridge. It was very big, and contrary to popular belief it was, in fact, not falling down. We went to the Design Museum after that. There were a lot of new inventions displayed that haven’t hit the market yet that were intriguing. After that we went and ate our bagged lunches and went to the British Library. We saw an exhibit on propaganda, which was curious. In the library they have several treasured documents. I saw original manuscripts from Shakespeare, Leonardo Da Vinci, and the Magna Carta. Sadly I didn’t get to touch any of them.

We went to a place called Camden town. You know in the movies when people are walking through a very crowded market where there’s no space to get through and there are vendors all over? That’s what Camden town is like. We walked around there for several hours. Got some lunch from one of the local vendors, and hopped on the Tube to discover other parts of London.

I talked to lots of people today, which was quite fun. I talked to too many to remember all of the conversations but I’ll tell you about the most memorable ones. The first man I talked to was playing the violin down by the subway. He was from Brazil and said that when people with cameras that are rude to him get too close he “licks their lenses.” He also told me that I was more polite than most people. The second very memorable conversation I had was with a gentleman that was with a group of Hare Krishna. They all came through the train station dancing and playing music and passing out literature. It was quite exciting. I talked with him for a while about his beliefs and what they were doing and why they were dancing around. I got his email too! I’m going to convert him.

The night was filled with walking the streets. I got some good night photography and quite a few good videos. There were some street performers by one of the large intersections. There were several break-dancers, and one statue guy. He was dressed all in gold-covered clothes. Even his face was covered with a gold mask. He would stand motionless for several minutes until eventually he would move suddenly and scare people. It was intimidating. He was very good at standing still.

The day was filled with adventures. I also had the chance to get many photos taken! I have a bit of a back up on editing my personal photos since I’ve been working on projects so much. But they will appear eventually, don’t worry. My feet are very sore, and they don’t like me.

Day 7: Do Over

Today was the last day for working on the photo project that has been consuming my life for the past several days. It was a very long, very tiring day, but what day isn’t over here? We shot the five photos we hadn’t shot yet, and we also reshot two of the photos we did yesterday. It was a much busier day, but much less stressful. We ran around finding models and props and getting locations set up. We directed, and shot, and reshot, and reshot. Now I have quite a bit of editing to get done. But the tiring and stressful part is over, so I can catch my breath. The presentations for the nature walk got pushed back until Wednesday also, which is extremely helpful.

One thing about this trip is that alone time doesn’t really happen. To have time alone, one must go very far out of their way. It’s not impossible, just harder than normal.

I’m very tired, and would like some sleep, so with that, goodnight.