On second though -

I may put up some stuff periodically throughout the year about the post-research synthesis and writing and all that, or at least links to where you can find what I write, what conclusions I come up with, etc. So, keep a look out for all that!

7/19 - I have learned what I can from this world, now I must return to my own.

What I did:

Rode on a plane for 9 ½ hours. It really wasn’t that bad though. I left pretty early and the plane ride back was all in the daylight, so I got to look out over lots of cool puffy clouds and even see some islands with snow topped mountains (tip of Greenland maybe?). I had some stress getting my connecting flight because of the ridiculousness of US customs. It was so much easier in Britain – I just talked to one lady, grabbed my bag, and walked into the country. But no, US made me stand in line, talk to one person, frantically look for my bag that did not come for another 20 or so minutes, then stand in another really long line (while trying to hide some chocolate from the sniffing dog) only to answer the same type of questions from another guy. I wound up with plenty of time to make my connection, but I was sweating it for a little while. And looking back on it all, I realize that it really was not a terrible process, just a terribly pointless one.

My flight into Dallas was nice and I finally got to sit by someone who was willing to talk. I arrived to be greeted by a “warm” welcome in Dallas. I immediately felt that it was nice to be home, although I would be more than content to still be in England. I also realized that I tend to be over-critical of ‘home’ – America – and that I over-romanticize foreign countries, when really it is all (in my limited experience of well-off, advanced countries) pretty much the same.

I got to eat some tasty Mexican food (I stayed well away from anything that said the same overseas) and got home. I was a long day and I had a lot of time to just be with myself, but now I am just tired and really ready to sleep.

Sincerely, thank you to everyone for reading this. I have enjoyed sharing my trip with you, and hope to be able to tell you even more about what I got to do, see, smell, experience overall during this trip. It really does mean a lot that you would take time out of your day just to read what I have to write. I also thank you for your support, encouragement, prayers, direction, help, or anything else you did to make this trip what it was.

I will not be publishing on this particular site anymore (although I do plan to leave it up). If you want to continue to follow me and my thoughts I would suggest checking out: http://pat-on-the-back.blogspot.com/. It will have less to do about me (i.e. what I do everyday) and more to do about what I experience around me (i.e. God, other people, funny stuff, meaningful stuff, etc), which I think is much more interesting and important to write about anyway.

God bless and I hope that you learn just as much from all of your journeying as I have learned from this one of mine.

What I learned:

All who have been reading this blog you can give yourself a pat on the back (haha – typically my internet username) because you have just read the equivalent of 90 single spaced, typed pages.

US customs is ridiculous and trusts without really trusting. If you have ever been through it recently, just think back (sorry to evoke such nightmares) and I think you will know what I mean. So many checks involving questioning, but it is all based on the honor system and what you can’t hide from a dog or random bag searches. They trust you to be truthful without really trusting you to not bring in anything you aren’t supposed to.

The weirdest place I have ever been in my life is now a walkway in the Detroit airport connecting terminal A to terminals B and C. It is straight out of Willy Wonka/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory complete with lights and music– and I think you know what part I mean.

US terrorist risk is “high” right now which is a bold red-orange colored pencil color. I guess I shouldn’t jest at this, but really how do you measure that? It seems so arbitrary.

Call me crazy, but I actually kind of like airplane food – the real meals you get on international flights, not just the nuts.

7/18 - My last full day: A bit of rest(lessness)

What I did:

I purposely did not do much today so that I could rest and get packed up for leaving. Plus it was Saturday and a good day to just rest.

So, I slept in some and for most of the waking day I watched some of the Ashes (cricket) on tv. I do not blame it all on Graham (who was into it) because I was interested too, mainly because this test cricket is slightly different than Twenty20 which I watched earlier this trip. It is also nice to watch cricket because you can do other stuff while you watch. So I spent a lot of time online too. I found a lot of new friends on Facebook, sent some emails I realized I meant to send a while ago, and just chilled out. I tried not to feed my restlessness too much and to allow myself to just enjoy my final day in the country.

I did get a little bored halfway through the day:

I made what will probably be my last cup of true English tea and had my last English meal (my flight is pretty early tomorrow so my breakfast will at best be airport food, which doesn’t count). Then I found a trailer for The Last Airbender and watched it a couple of times!!! So exciting!!! I can’t wait for July 2, 2010!

Time to pack up and get some rest.

What I learned:

A little more about test cricket.

I have ridden on a lot of trains.

The winner for the most common name of all the people I met the past eight weeks is Steve (or variation thereof) with at least 9 occurrences and a close second was Chris with at least 6. It did seem like a lot more of each.

The Last Airbender is set to come out July 2, 2010. The trailer does look a little serious, but still exciting (and thanks to Katie for reminding me about it).

7/17 - A wet trip west

What I did:

I woke up early to try and get out to get to Salisbury early and also to not get in the way of the cleaning lady that would be coming. Unfortunately, I was about 10 minutes late for that. Also, I knew the forecast was for about 80% rain chance, but I figured it would be worth it. Rain prevented me from this trip several weeks ago, and I would not let it again. So I set off with my eyes to the sky to get the train to Salisbury.

I got all the way there and it was still relatively bright with the sun glowing through the overcast skies, which I took as a good sign. My first goal was to get out to Stonehenge, and to try to do so before it rained (I knew it was inevitable). I got on the tour bus, which I at one time both hated doing and found very interesting. It told us lots of cool interesting things about the town and Stonehenge as we made our way out there. Without a car, it was really one of the only ways to get out there though. We made a few stops in town and made it about halfway out before the rain started to pour down. Oh well, I was expecting a wet day anyway.

By the time we actually unloaded the bus, it was not bad. We walked in and one good thing about the bus thing was that entry to the site was included, so we didn’t have to wait in the ticket line, but went straight to get our audio headsets and walk on in. I was impressed with the headset purely because of the numbering system. It actually made some sense as opposed to any other museum I have been to that has had them. It used the numbers 1-7 with two extra information options that just doubled the previous number. Proof that it can be done in a simple, logical way.

We walked under the road and out to the site. It was pretty cool, and I could have spent even longer out there if it had not been for the rain. But I got plenty of face time with the big stones. I also realized that the wetness was no deterrent for hundreds of people pilgrimaging out to empty their purses to see the big rocks. To be honest, it was not really what I had in my head. It is hard to explain what is different. There were definitely more stones than I thought there were, and it took up less space than I thought. But we could get up fairly close and there was lots of interesting information and it was nonetheless impressive.

By the time my jeans were soaked, I took a last look and headed for the tunnel under the road to finish listening to the audio guide. After a while the rain let up a lot and I went to wait out for the bus to come back. It got there and we saw some more of the countryside and some burial stuff around the site. The tour includes a stop at a place called Old Sarum, which is where the original town at Salisbury was built. If you ever opt for this method of exploring this area, definitely take the stop here. Not many people did, which I don’t understand (although it was all in English and I know that many of the people in the bus were not talking English to each other whether they could understand it or not). I got out, and it was a little bit of a guess to find where to go, but it is on a big hill, so I just walked towards that. There was a nice path to the top and admission to the site was included in the ticket I had. So I walked around. It is basically some ruins of an old castle and next to that a cathedral on a big hill. What made this really cool, though, was that you could walk all around it. It was the most accessible site (especially compared to Stonehenge with its roped off paths).

So I explored and climbed around ruins. It also had a great view all around including Salisbury. It started to rain a little again, and it was time for me to go catch the bus again. Right when I had started to dry out, I again got soaked waiting for the bus. But I was soon back in the city center of Salisbury with what looked like the promise of not much more rain, and if there was then plenty of shelter. I walked around some finding first the shopping center, but breezing through it to check out Salisbury Cathedral. It was pretty cool and I looked around some and sat and listened to a choir practice which was definitely one of the highlights of the day – they were really good. I walked around some more and saw an original version of the Magna Carta (supposedly the most well preserved).

After a while, I headed back out to the rest of the city and found St. Thomas’s church which has a nice big fresco-like wall painting that looked cool. It was a very barren church though and I did not even see anyone that worked there. It was dark and very few visitors. I walked around some more all along the Avon river and through the city until dinner. After eating a little, I headed back to the train station to complete my last journey out.

I got back into Fleet and noticed that the overcast clouds had cleared to make way for a breath-taking sunset. That really made my day. The sky was full of colors that would not even be matched in an 8,000,000 count assortment of Crayola Crayons. (Although it would be kind of cool if it was an electric lime sky, just in a very different way). I finally made it back to relax and dry out after a cold and wet day.

What I learned:

The mystery of what Stonehenge was built for. Wouldn’t you like to know?

The spire of the Cathedral is slightly cooked to the south west (I think). But it is not enough to be worried about, yet.

I could be botching all of this, but this is what I vaguely remember hearing from a mixture of things related to the Stonehenge tour stuff: Three rivers converge in Salisbury. There was an elaborate system of canals built around the city until they became carriers of sewage and disease. The cathedral was built very quickly as far as cathedrals go, and only has about a 4 foot deep foundation, but under it some other materials.

There is a snack food here (maybe in America too) called Twiglets made by Jacob’s. In my humble opinion they taste terrible. I was trying to think of something to relate them too as I ate, but I could not. I am sure they appeal to some people’s taste buds, but I’d prefer to go hungry.

I have a real soft spot for sunsets.

7/16 - One last interview, one last view

What I did:

I went back into London pretty early to make sure I would be there for my 1pm meeting with Ian. I walked around a little looking for lunch and trying to act like I at least knew where in the city I was. I felt very out of place because I was in the middle of the bank/business district area where everyone wears suits and are running all over the place. But I carried on and walked literally all the way around the place I was meeting Ian, but slightly on purpose because I had time to kill and wanted to see more of the area since I had not spent much time in it.

I finally made it back to the church converted to bookshop where Ian works and had a nice long interview with him. It will probably be my last and was a great note to end on. He was very insightful and may have helped me add another dimension to my research. I will leave it that cryptic so maybe you will have some incentive to actually flip through whatever I come up with at the end of all this.

I left Ian with two new books in my bag and headed out to look around London one last time. I walked back to St. Paul’s and spent some more time there and prayed there. Then I walked back towards the monument to the fire of London to see if it was free, but it was not, and I saw no reason to climb all those stairs just to get a nice view. Then I went over to the Temple area and got to the church where they have some effigies right before it closed. Just enough time to look around, snap some photos, and get booted out. I walked around that area of Westminster some more and eventually made my way down to the river and walked along it some. I went back to the parliament area and eventually found a pub that Mr. Wightman (high school English teacher) suggested and had some food that was just as good as he said it was.

Then it was time to leave. I decided to walk all the way to the train station instead of getting the tube again. First, because I have a lot better chance to not get swine flu the further I stay away from the craziness of the tube. But really it was nice to get one more view of the city.

I got back just before it started rain. Caught the end of Talladega Nights before getting ready for bed.

What I learned:

The larger picture of geographical London is starting to finally be pieced together in my head.

There is a constant influx of tourists like a river coming out of Westminster tube station. But I guess I am sort of part of them, at least I was definitely in the exact same boat several weeks ago.

7/15 - Telling Tales

What I did:

I hung around the house for a while in the morning, then got ready to head into London. I would be visiting the Moot community again (go back two Sundays for the first time) for their meditation service. I purposely headed out pretty early to spend some more time in town. I decided to go check out the Victoria and Albert Museum.

I was not really in the mood to visit a museum, but that all changed when I got there and went through the first exhibit. It was a special temporary one called “Telling Tales: Fantasy and Fear in Contemporary Design.” The first part was fairy tale themed furniture and stuff and the second part was kind of an eerie, hell like mood. I thought it was all really interesting though. Then I checked out as much of the rest of the museum that I could in the next 2-3 hours. It is for some reason my favorite museum so far. I really liked the way things were laid out and what they had. I don’t know, maybe I just suddenly got in the mood for a museum.

I got into the center of London with enough time to grab some dinner and then head over to St. Mary Woolnoth church. I was just in time and greeted several of the people I met last time. I went in and sat down and we soon started the meditation. Ian was there (not necessarily the leader, but kind of the go to guy/enabler of the community) and he soon began by explaining what we would do. We had a good 25 minutes of meditation and some talking after about meditating. It was very good and peaceful (especially in contrast to the craziness of the city barely audible right outside the walls), but I also realized just how not used to it I am.

Afterwards, I got to talk to some of the members of the community some more and even got to tag along with some of them to a sort of small group type of thing they call mini moots. I even ran into a guy I met at the (mysterious) weekend thing I went to a while ago, which was fun. We sat and talked for a while, then eventually we went to the pub so Ian could get some food. We met another couple there and had a lot of really interesting discussion.

After that, I went back home and very easily and quickly fell asleep as I tried to record all my observations.

What I learned:

Parts of the Jubilee line of the tube are the newest and most recently worked on. I guess I had not ridden on any of this part until today, because they have these fancy doors right by the track that prevent anyone from purposely or accidentally jumping onto the tracks or even getting near the train until it has stopped and opened its doors. I guess it helps, but it seems kind of silly and unnecessary in my opinion.

Museums in London are all huge and impossible to get through in any short amount of time.

I need to hone my meditating skills.

7/14 - Official researching

What I did:

I put on a shirt this morning and looked down to see it almost still folded over because of the large amount of wrinkles. So I did the logical thing and first said it doesn’t matter and just went on. But then I thought again and decided I could just put on a different, non-wrinkled shirt. So I did that, and then refolded a lot of my clothes so that they wouldn’t get as wrinkled. Ironing at this point just seems pointless (not that I would have done it at any point on this trip or anytime really).

Then I got ready to make a short train trip into a part of London called Sutton. I was going to meet a guy called Jason who works at a Vineyard church plant. I did not know much of anything about him or Vineyard churches in general besides what I read about online, although I know that there are Vineyard churches in the States too. I got there fine and early enough to grab some lunch and walk down the main street for a little while.

Then I went and met with Jason who is a great guy and apparently very well read (his office was literally stuffed with books). It was good to actually interview someone again officially and structured. It makes me feel like I know what I am doing here and that this project is somehow organized and put together. Kind of like dressing up a cat as a dog for Halloween. It at least seems like something good has happened, even though it is still really a cat.

It was actually a really good interview, and (take it as you will) I can see how Jason is really good in the ministerial position he has now. An hour and a half later I was headed back towards the rail station and got to see a couple of interesting sights of Sutton.


While walking back to the house, I noticed how nice of a day it was. It was right at that time that the clouds are as full as they can get and are dripping out a little bit making the air cool and wet (but not quite humid). The pine trees respond by being as strong and sweet smelling as they can be, and the light breaking just barely out of the clouds on its long journey to the edge of the world made it all pleasant in every sense possible. All in all, it was a nice walk back.

I got back and messed around on Spotify some more which continues to impress me and got a few things in order that were previously out. I just rested the rest of the night, wondering in the back of my mind if it would be worth it to go back into London tonight to see if I could find any Harry Potter craziness, but tired legs, the price of another train ticket, and the silliness of it all convinced me otherwise in the end. Watched some British soaps while finally eating a meal (besides a quick bowl of cereal) at Graham’s again and a little more tv the rest of the night.

What I learned:

Milkshakes are not necessarily the same. I went up to a stand selling burgers and stuff after lunch because it said they had milkshakes. There were some large silver, metal machines that looked like milkshake machines back home, so I ordered one and the lady reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle. She shook it up and gave it to me. I opened up the bottled milkshake, a little shaken as to what happened, but drank it anyway. Not near as good and really just kind of like very slightly chunky milk.

A lot more about Vineyard and Jason’s views on church.

Bowfinger (with Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy) is a ridiculous movie.