I know, I must confess: I have been gone from my blog for a long while. I believe it's been about four weeks since I've posted? Yikes! I arrived home (in California) Monday, August 4th, but I have three weeks of London adventures to catch you up on! Three weeks of a jam-packed internship is most definitely going to be hard to describe. If I described everything that I did in my last three weeks in London, this blog post might turn into a book! Therefore, I have decided that I will entertain you with some highlights of my last three weeks in London, so you can at least get a good sense of what an amazing time I had in this incredible, incredible city. And of course I'll include pictures along the way too!
So what did I go in my last three weeks in London, you ask? Well, not too long after I wrote my previous blog post, I went to my first pub! It was quite exciting. This was my first pub experience in which I was old enough to get a drink. Of course, I got a typical, first-time-at-a-pub drink: a half-pint of Blue Moon! And yes, surprisingly, this pub did carry Blue Moon (even though it's an American beer). This, I might add, was also my first drink ever outside of my home/parents' guidance – my first drink on my own, as a legal adult in England. Very exciting times! Here's a picture of that first drink for your enjoyment:
As some of you might know (and in case you don't), I am absolutely in love with BBC's television series Sherlock. And fortunately, they film a lot of the television series in Central London! They don't use the actual 221B Baker Street for the show – instead, they use the outside of a flat on Gower Street to portray 221B Baker Street (the inside of the flat is a set somewhere in BBC's studios). The outside of the flat (along with the cafe right next to the flat) that they use for Sherlock is iconic in the show. And even more fortunately for me, Gower Street is right next to UCL (where we were spending most days of the internship). So one Friday night after our campus devotional, one of the friends I made on the internship (Becca) took me to see the Sherlock flat. Of course, I was giddy with excitement – I was like a child on Christmas morning! Here's a picture of the Sherlock flat and cafe:
The only unfortunate part was that the cafe was closed by the time we got there. Apparently, the cafe is actually quite good and serves exceptional food. Well, I guess I'll just have to head back to London sometime soon and go to Speedy's when it's open!
Next up on my list of London highlights: a one-year-old's birthday party! The couple in charge of the internship (Brian and Lauren) have a son (Braden), and his birthday happened to be during the internship. So, of course, we had to throw him a birthday party! It was absolutely adorable watching him eat his first cake. The birthday party was too cute, and it was definitely a great way to spend a Saturday:
Another highlight: I don't remember exactly what I was doing, but there was one Sunday that I had to go through Paddington station to get to the Tube. And since my blog is called "The Paddington Files," I figured it was only appropriate to take a picture of the classic Tube sign with the station's name. I also took a brief moment to capture part of the train station:
All the above highlights were in the third week of the internship. Now, during the fourth and fifth week there weren't too many "big" highlights. Although, in general, being in London was a highlight in and of itself. The internship carried on as usual – the other interns and I would meet at UCL every morning at 10am. And from that time until about 5pm we would have intern meetings, we would share our faith with other students on the UCL campus, and we would also study the Bible with people. As more and more people began to attend our daily Bible discussions, they became more and more interested in learning about God. So we would get together with them at other times during their week, and we would teach them more about God and the Bible. It was wonderful to sit down with other women who knew nothing about the Bible and teach them what it really says and how amazing God is.
One highlight during the fourth and fifth weeks (that I sadly didn't get any pictures of) was the opportunity to play the drums for the Southeast region of the London ICOC on my last two Sundays in London. It was so much fun to be able to get back on a full drum kit. As I've said in a previous post, I play the cajon for the NYC church every Sunday. But a cajon is in no way as much fun as a full drum kit. The feeling you get as you pour your heart into the music, as your energy travels through you to your drum sticks. Playing the drums gives me a joy and a happiness like no other (I would definitely be in a band if I could). When the Southeast region asked me to come play the drums for the Sunday morning worship, I didn't hesitate in jumping on that drum kit. It was such an amazing feeling to be playing a full drum kit for church again. There are many ways that we can worship God, and playing the drums is one of the ways I love to worship God. I love pouring my heart and soul into those songs and really feeling every word, every beat. Not only do I miss London, I miss playing the drums in the Southeast region. It made me look forward to each Sunday morning even more than I already did. Yes, that was most definitely a huge highlight of my time in London.
So, yes, the fourth and fifth weeks were pretty low-key but definitely jam-packed with serving God and the campus ministry in London. I don't have too many more highlights, so I'll start wrapping this blog post up.
Although there weren't many enormously big highlights in those last two weeks, my last two days in London were so, so, so much fun. Our last official day of the internship was August 2nd, which also happened to be my spiritual birthday (the day that I got baptized and became a Christian). I can't believe it's been five years since I became a Christian! And no doubt, these have been the best five years of my life. Anywho, continuing on with London. On the last official day of the internship, all of us interns went to Thorpe Park to celebrate! Thorpe Park is a huge amusement park just outside of London, and it was so much fun! The roller coasters were absolutely amazing – better than American roller coasters, I thought. Unfortunately, I didn't grab any pictures at Thorpe Park either, but I like to live off of memories anyway. Sometimes pictures just don't do the actual experience justice, but of course you'll always have those memories. We went on lots and lots of roller coasters! There's this one roller coaster called "Stealth," and it goes from 0 to 80 mph in just 2.3 seconds. It was absolutely insane, but absolutely exhilarating and enjoyable. At one point, I also went on the merry-go-round four times in a row with Braden while we waited for his parents (Brian and Lauren both wanted to go on a roller coaster, and I love spending time with one-year-olds). Though I must say, I got quite dizzy by the fourth time around... Thorpe Park was such a fun experience, and an incredible way to end the internship.
The next day (Sunday, August 3rd) was my last full day in London. In the morning, I went to church and played the drums, of course. Then, I got lunch with some of the other interns who were still in town. The afternoon was actually quite busy. As most of you know, I was staying in South London, which is quite far from Heathrow Airport (Heathrow is about an hour to an hour and a half Tube ride from Central London). So I moved all of my luggage from where I was staying in South London to Brian and Lauren's flat in Central London, which is where I spent the night before leaving for Heathrow in the morning. After moving all of my stuff (with two people helping me, of course) to Brian and Lauren's flat, my friend Jessica and I decided to go be tourists during our last full day in London. Jess is from Canada, so naturally we wanted to see the sights just a bit more before leaving the UK entirely. We decided to go on the London Eye – what better way to spend our last day in London? By the time we headed out for the London Eye, it was evening and nearing sunset. We happened to get on the London Eye right as the sun was setting. It was absolutely, incredibly beautiful. I really could not have asked for a better evening. I'll give you just a taste of the many pictures I took on the London Eye. Words truly cannot do this beauty justice, so I'll just show you a bunch of pictures.
By the time Jess and I got off the London Eye, the sun had set. But this meant that all of the lights for the city were beginning to turn on. Of course, we seized this opportunity to take even more beautiful pictures of the great city of London.
After enjoying the sights for a bit longer, Jess (who was also staying with Brian and Lauren) and I headed back to the flat. We spent of the rest of the night relaxing. We went to bed earlier that night, but not before deciding to wake up early the next morning to watch the sunrise on the Thames! So, we woke up at 4:45am the next morning, went out to the Thames, and watched as the sun rose over Tower Bridge. And we took some time to walk part of Tower Bridge as well. London at 4:45am is so serene – I wonder why? But on a serious note, London was absolutely beautiful at that time in the morning – quiet, calm, peaceful. You would never know it was a bustling city. Here are some pictures from that sunrise morning:
And with that sunrise, I said my last farewells to London. I left Central London around 8:30am that morning, boarded my flight at 12pm, and by 12:30pm I was headed back to California. Thorpe Park, London Eye, sunset, sunrise, friends... What a perfect way to conclude my time in London!
London was a great, great adventure. Looking back at the entirety of my trip, I can truly say (beyond even the slightest of doubts) that I wouldn't have wanted to spent my summer any other way. I am so eternally grateful for this opportunity, and I wholeheartedly know that this opportunity was a blessing directly from God. I learned so much during my time in London – I learned more about how the church ministry works, but I also learned a lot about myself as well. I felt that I grew more in character during these five weeks than I have in a long, long time. I'm still so awestruck that God chose me and allowed me to go to London. God truly is good and awesome. I built memories that I will never, ever forget, and I definitely made life-long friends among the other interns. I wouldn't have traded this opportunity – this gift, really – for the world.
Psalm 105:5
"Remember the miracles he has done; remember his wonders and his decisions."
I love this scripture because it reminds me to remember – to remember all that God has done for me, all that he has given me, all of his wonders! London truly was a wonder, it was God's goodness – I never want to forget that, and I know I never will.
Thank you for coming along with me on my London adventures. Although I wasn't as descriptive and thorough as I would've like to be – and I do apologize for my lack of consistent posts – I appreciate every one of my readers. I like to know that others were experiencing this marvelous adventure with me. London was truly more than I ever could've asked or imagined (Ephesians 3:20). God truly did have an amazing plan for my summer (Jeremiah 29:11)!
And with that, I bid you all adieu. But who knows – maybe I'll be back to posting in the spring? Study abroad program? We'll see what the future holds!
Farewell and thank you,
Hannah Middlekauff
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