Wicked!

It is easy to experience London's fine arts b/c of all the free museums and galleries. I've certainly had enough of those for a while. Enjoying London's performing arts demands more intentionality. About a month ago I heard the UK Premier of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom Phantasia" in the O2 Building-can't beat free tickets. As far as musicals, there are almost too many options. Wicked is one of the newer ones, 2003, based on a parallel novel of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Its story intrigued me and I had heard such positive feedback about it, I was afraid it wouldn't meet my expectations. Well Tuesday night I saw it at the Apollo Theatre with some friends-it blew me away! The singing was amazing, the acting pulled you into the story, the stage and costume designs were so intricate... it was truly a sensesational performace. My favorite song was Elphaba's "Defying Gravity". Les Miserables is next on the list, probably in the spring. I've heard the Nine Lessons and Carols at Westminster Abbey Christmas Eve is fantastic but I'll need to come early for a seat. I'll keep you all posted on how these turn out!

trip to Oxford, and other experiences

I visited some friends up in Oxford last weekend! It was a brief trip but well worth it. They showed me around the city, we got some good fish and chips and watched a late showing of the newest Bond movie. There is a ton of history to see and before leaving Sunday I grabbed some lunch and the Eagle and Child pub, where the Inklings met (CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien among others).
I forgot to mention but the week prior I went with the guys from our older youth club to a Liverpool v. Tottenham football match. It was a great first experience! We sat in the Tottenham section, so it was a good thing they won 4-2. We had sweet seats near the goal, cheered with the crowd, learn some new chants and joined 1000s with the long Tube ride home. I'll be leading both youth clubs for a few months, which includes running the indoor soccer matches that get pretty intense-no injuries so far.
I went to an Indian restaurant/nightclub with some friends last Thursday. I was used to the food but dancing to Bollywood music was new, I recognized a few of the songs. The place is normally packed but not that night so I stood out more. While I mention Bollywood, you all can be assured I've asked for personal of suggestions of what films to watch. They're definitely longer than American films and present a unique Indian perspective on similar themes. Thankfully they have English subtitles!

Christmas decorations went up the first week of November and the city is buzzing with holiday fever-they don't celebrate Thanksgiving here. I'll be having Thanksgiving with some other friends and am looking forward to some American football beforehand! I'm not quite sure what I'll be doing for Christmas yet.
*for recent photos check the link to flickr on the site, and for even more befriend me on facebook to see some albums:)

exploration!

Every week I take a day or simply an afternoon to explore my neighborhood or other parts of London. Depending on the location, I'll take my bicycle with my lock, reflective gear and helmet since I've been warned about how hazardous cycling in London can be. It has been much quicker to get around this way but when I'm in central London I just take the Tube. There is so much to see and most places have free admission but I would like to get outside the city and see the countryside sometime soon. The weather has recently been very rainy and makes my bike rides less enjoyable...no accidents yet.
photos: 1. a canal path I found which was a nice change in terrain and scenery 2. a small chapel turned into a courtyard which almost completely hidden by other buildings in central London, me in front of my flat on a typical morning.

Fireworks!

Diwali, the largest and most popular Indian festival, was celebrated with fireworks throughout the week. This fuzzy photo is from a celebration in Trafalgar Square (I had to jump for the shot, which is why it is poor quality) For the first time in 70 yrs, it snowed in the UK in October-the night just before Diwali. I was with some kids from the youth club who were pretty disappointed. The day of Diwali, Wednesday the 29th, I visited the Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden. Over 30,000 people passed through the doors of that Hindu temple. It was an amazing experience to see the intricate construction and hear more about Hinduism from those around me.

There were smaller celebrations within the next several days. Halloween is understood in many different ways but for myself, several young kids and some parents it meant spending time together having fun dressing up in costumes, carving pumpkins, playing games, and grabbing candy from a broken piñata! Guy Fawkes Day, Nov. 5th gave the Brits a reason to light fireworks as well. For over a week I had a fireworks display every night in our back alley-cheaper than me having to buy any!

a cosmopolitan slice of London

I had originally hoped to find an Indian family to stay with but when the doors didn’t open (no pun intended), I was happy to find a comfortable flat close to the bus, tube and charity above a furnishing store with three guys last Thursday. The store is owned by a British man, who grew up locally and whose father opened the shop in 1938. He had some great stories to tell over tea about how the community has changed since then. Two of the guys I live with are from Romania, and the other is from Granada-all of them are well traveled. We had a barbeque with the flat two doors down, housing three girls and one guy from India, Sri Lanka, Czech Republic and Canada. Thankfully they all speak English, and well enough to have our conversations vary from politics and the economic crisis to Halloween.

Football

You can always start a conversation mentioning football (soccer) here, especially the Premier League. I am a Chelsea fan, and through that choice I have many enemies. Most of the kids at our youth clubs support Arsenal or Liverpool so they’ve been trying to sway my allegiance. I was not able to follow the Premier League in the States much so I have enjoyed having it be a way of life here. I’ve played once a week with some of the older guys indoors and thankfully they already expected my poor performance by being American. I would prefer to be outside on a pitch but I have not yet found equipment, good weather, or enough people to make it worthwhile. It has been difficult to find any type of adult league for a mediocre player like me, but I’ll keep looking! I am excited about going to a match on the 12^th with some friends. For now, I am content to go to the local pub and watch bigger matches over a good meal and a pint.

navratri

On Sunday night, the 5^th, I attended Navratri at the Harrow Leisure Center with two friends. Though this is primarily a spiritual ceremony, it seemed to provide a special social opportunity for reunion and interaction between Indian families and communities. I was one of the few non-Indians present but everyone was very welcoming and patient as I learned the dance steps for their garba and asked questions. The first thing that struck me upon entering the large room was all the colors. Though I had only been in London a few days, it seemed the usual colors for Brits were darker-black, brown, navy blue, etc. So when I saw all the bright colors and intricate designs of the sarees, kurtas, and other clothes, I felt like I walked into a rainbow! It was all very festive with friends coming together, families taking pictures and live music. While I was off to the side during the main prayer, an Indian explained to me what was being said and was being symbolized in the middle. We were there for a few hours so my feet were definitely sore the next day from dancing barefoot but it was worth the experience.