The Blog

Starting out an entry is always the hardest. I have to jam pack so much into these things called words. Unfortunatly for me typed words cannot capture smell, sound, or just an experience in general very well. I try my best.

The other day I ventured for the first time over to Hyde Park. It is literally right across an alley way. Why I have not ventured over sooner is a huge mystery. When I got to the park i was immediatly disappointed in myself for not going sooner. How much time have i wasted on simple pavement surronded by buildings and people in a hurry when i could be wasting my precious time surronded by lucious green grass, ducks, water, scented flowers, horses, people enjoying nature, children, and just beauty. I wish i could recreate the experience for you, but i know i cannot. I could in no way describe it to create in you the emotion I felt. For me I grasp a feeling from nature that I cannot feel anywhere else. I feel that nature can sometime speak louder than any car, music or voice. They are the moments that are presented that cannot be explained, but more than any other need to be felt. It truly is the gift of a Creator to his beloved. All this from a park. I can explain no further. I will put up pictures soon.

On to my weekend.

Saturday I went to an English football game. It is here that i should make clear that an english game of football would be an american game of soccer. So for all of you back home when you read football you can insert soccer for understanding. I had to go to a match for one of my classes and i am so thankful that i had to! It was an amazing experience . On the twenty minute walk to the stadium I walked and chatted with my professor who is a rolly polly, pipe smoking old english man. He was full of information and we both shared the same sense of humor. So we joked about and he filled me in on English football. About three blocks away from the stadium your ears became aware that you were getting close. There was chanting in the air. Loud chanting. A block away from the stadium you could begin to see a ton of police vehicles and police on horses. On the way into the stadium my professor explained that the two teams playing are VERY competitve. He said that it used to be that in the football games the teams' fans would be mixed...It got very messy so they decided the best thing to do was to seperate the fans. Uhhh..duh. but anyways, so the opposing team's fans ( i was cheering for the Queens Park Rangers) had to be escorted in by the police. It was an interesting picture. The opposing side's fans were in the middle of the street surronded by police on horses and the home team's fans (me) were on the sidewalk. There was so much chanting and bantering going on. It was an amazing experience. Then into the stadium we go. The game was good. The playing for the most part was good. The best part was the fans though of course. They just yelled and carried on the whole time. There was lots of swearing and bantering back and forth and best of all a miny riot broke out! All of a sudden police were everywhere...of course the game kept going through it all. Finally the game ended with my team winning. Yea for QPR! Then we we're allowed out of the stadium while the opposing team's fans had to wait till we all we're gone before leaving so as to avoid any rumbles outside. Yes, it was amazing. I will put some pictures up soon.

Then on Sunday my roommate, another girl, and myself went to Leeds Castle. It was a nice jot out of the city, took about an hour and 45 minutes by bus. Of course this was the first day that I had to use my umbrella for more than an hour. It decided to rain all day long. It was still a great day though. The grounds of the castle were amazing! Exotic birds ran the place along with special black swans. The castle on the outside was quite nice, but the inside was not what i imagined it to be. It seems that up until the 70's this castle had been in residency so the interior had been done up to be livable. Understandable i guess, but i was hoping for that whole rustic appeal. I suppose the best part though would have to be the Maze. Yes, there was the kind of maze like there is in Alice in Wonderland. It was small, but incredibly difficult. To be quite honest i would probably still be wandering around the thing in circles if it hadn't been for my one friend Nirali who made it to the top and helped to direct my roommate and i through. Good times. I enjoyed the little old man named Barry who gave us useless information about the maze and swans. I shall include this story of the swan that he told us that made me about cry. All about the grounds there are swans. There is also a golf course. There is also a little river. Swans stay to one side of the river. Supposedly swans mate for life. This is the information you need to understand the story.

There was a pair of swans. They were in love. They were across the river. The side of the river that the swans don't hang out on. The one swan got killed by a freak accident. This freak accident was getting hit by a golf ball. Now the other swan will not leave the area where the other swan died. It stays there constantly. Barry told us that swans can sometimes live up to 30 years. I'm sorry if i made you cry.

Well, i'm afraid that is all i am going to update now. I am tired of typing. I think that's a lot though. e-mail me sometime...i know you guys are reading. rosegirl64@hotmail.com