Wow. Let me just say that Cambridge is my favorite! I love this place!! This morning, we rode there on a coach (a bus in America) and we actually made a stop at a WWII memorial for all of the Americans that died while serving with the British troops. It was a beautiful garden area and there were around 12,000 soldiers that they have the memorial set as a tribute to. It was beautiful. There were crosses everywhere and some statues. There was also a place of prayer for those who wanted to pray. Every time I go to a memorial about war, my heart is full of gratitude for their sacrifices. They paid so much for the cause of freedom. It’s incredible what these people were willing to do so that we can have the world we know today. I feel like these memorials are very sacred. I always have a prayer-like solemnity come over me as I walk and think in these places. In Women’s Chorus last semester, we sang a gorgeous song that was written during WWII. Here are the words:
High Flight
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew.
And while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.
- John Magee
I was really glad our professors decided we should stop there. It was definitely one of the highlights of my experience here.
Cambridge is much more open-feeling than Oxford to me. Oxford almost feels oppressed and Cambridge seems more free and ready to enjoy life. I don’t know. I enjoyed the atmosphere of Cambridge so much more than I did Oxford. I’m so glad we went. We had several hours that they gave us to just enjoy ourselves.
A group of us went to a delightful sandwich shop and I got a bacon, chicken baguette and some crisps. It was delicious! We then went punting. If you don’t know what punting is... google it. I don’t really feel like explaining it on this blog. :) One of my very favorite experiences in London happened while I was doing the punting. You know those boats that people use sticks to push the boat forward instead of paddles? I was punting (using the stick) and I stuck it into the water and it would not come out. I kept pulling and pulling (trying not to fall into the river) and finally, my friend Chris helped me pull the stick out. There was a bicycle stuck to the stick. The people along the shore started clapping. It was one of the best experiences ever. :) I was laughing so hard I almost fell off the boat. Oh man. Just imagine pulling a stick out of the water with an entire bicycle attached! It was fantastic!
We punted for about two hours. We sang opera on the boat while we drifted lazily down the river. One of the riverboat guys even hit on me. :) That was kind of fun.
After we finished punting, I bought a sweatshirt from Cambridge and we headed over to the Trinity College to listen to their rehearsal and then attend Evensong. I LOVED this choir’s sound! Oh my goodness. They had a richer, deeper alto section. The sopranos also had a further back sound, but it wasn’t too deep. The color was gorgeous. I just loved it. They sang some incredible pieces. A couple of their pieces reminded me of Eric Whitaker pieces and I really liked it. The hall was a wonderful venue. I loved the acoustics in that hall. The director stopped them during rehearsal a lot which was different than we typically see here in England. It seems that usually, they just let things slide and hope that everyone gets it the next time because they are such incredible sight readers. The director also put some really great percussive dimensions to their songs with dynamics that I thought changed the sound dramatically and in a very good way. I liked it a lot. The music here heals my soul. It’s just amazing.
We drove home after the trip and went to bed. I’m afraid I’m a bit sunburned but I wouldn’t have traded today for anything. :) I LOVE Cambridge!
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