Hilary In London

Marking One Month

Yesterday marked my one month anniversary of being in England. Though I feel quite settled, and have felt as though I belong here - I still had a hard time believing it had been a month. Time flies. If this month went by that quickly, the others are sure to go even faster. There is so much to look forward to, so much that I am still excited about - but still completely overwhelming, especially with teaching.
This past week has been calmer than others - getting control of some classes, and no huge incidents. Friday night was the first night in a while that I stayed home with nothing that I needed to do for the next day. It was very nice! I had downloaded the season premier of Grey's Anatomy (they are just about to start season 2 here, so I need my fix of season 3 somehow!) and relaxed. It also meant that I was refreshed and ready to go on Saturday.
I met Dave down near Westminister - our plan was to go inside today. We ended up spending almost 3 hours looking around inside. It was a much different experience than when I was 16 (but I guess you can say that about most experiences) - I wasn't completely spell bound, well, maybe a little. I feel like I appreciated what was inside more than I did before. I remember being just in awe walking around - where as yesterday the history of the Abbey was what got me. It is a shrine to the past. A shrine to what has made England so unique. The royalty mixed with war vetrans, politicians and artists. We found one tomb that dated back to 1082. 900 years before I was born. There is also a memorial to General Woolfe - a little Canadian tribute. That was the turning point in Canadian history, it is what made Canada primarily English. And it is there, captured in time, at Westminster Abbey.
We ended up staying for the Evensong - it is a short service which is mostly sung by the Westminster boys choir. We sat in the pews just feet away from the choir. The voices and the acoustics in the Abbey are just incredible. Their voices echoed, filling the Abbey and taking over your senses.
We went back to Dave and Ariana's house to have some dinner and pick up Ariana. We probably should have left a little bit earlier - but who knew that the tube was going to stop running on the line we needed. After quite an adventure trying to get there in time - being told that someone's life was 'over' after we beat them to a cab, and the cab drivers manouvering through London Traffic, we did make it to the theatre. Had we been able to get into the doors where we were dropped off we would have even made it on time. Running around the block to get to the other side of the building made us a little late - the show had just started when we got in. It didn't take away from it at all though. 'Wicked' was incredible! It was a show - the costumes, the music, the dancing, the sets - though the story is weak at times (as Ariana said, there is no explanation of how Elpheba became the wicked witch of the west, and her sister the wicked witch of the east) it was fantastic! I had low expectations coming into it - since I put the book down halfway through (or as I found out, just before the 1st act ended). The main ideas of the book are there, but much has been cut out, making it a more simple story. It worked better this way. The friendship between Glinda and Elpheba, the love interest (played by Adam Garcia - the cute Australian lead from Coyote Ugly!), the links to the Wizard of Oz. I am glad I didn't know the ending - though now I am curious to read the end of the book.
There was so much excitement in the building. People clapped when characters came on for the first time (though it made more sense when we found out who everyone was. The wicked witch of the west/Elpheba is Indina Menzel - the orginal Elpheba on Broadway (she won a tony for her performance in NY)- the actress who orginated the role. It was like being able to see Sarah Brightman in Phantom - even though the character wasn't designed for her - it is her who will be known for the role for all time.) It was a spectacle. The show gave you goosebumps - It was a truly deserved standing ovation! 

posted by Hilary @ 10:36 AM