On March 24 we flew across a little water to Great Britain. We were there to visit our good friend Keith in London. We had some trouble immediately entering the country as we went through customs, we needed to have an address of the place we were staying and, well we didn’t have one because Keith was there to pick us up and take us to his place. The lady was really adamant that we could not enter the country without an address because they would not know where to find us if they needed to. We showed her that we had residence in Spain and she finally let us through, thank God.
Keith was there to pick us up which was really nice. We didn’t have good previous communication about how or where we were going to meet but he was really smart and figured out exactly where he would see us come out from our flight. He was there waiting with bags of goodies for us. All kinds of Cadbury chocolate, a pocket-size London guide book, some water, and throat lozenges for me, since I had been sick every single time he had ever seen me. He then took us to the supermarket to buy some food to get us through our time there, even some ice cream! He was already outdoing himself and we didn’t even know how to begin thanking him for his generosity. He was really happy to have us for company, and we had great conversations with him. We learned a lot about his previous missionary work, and his journey that lead him to where he is now in the church and about all of his studies as he is completing a Masters degree right now through Graceland in Lamoni, Iowa; all the way over in London.
He was very busy with papers and exams, so he wasn’t able to explore London with us the next day but we didn’t have anything in mind anyway other than just to see what we found. He took us to the train station that took us into the city. In about an hour we stepped out into King’s Cross station then transferred to Camden. The only thing we really wanted to see in London was Camden Market. And, it was so worth it. We spent the entire day on Friday (which was the first sunny, and warm day all year in London) strolling through the old horse barns that have been turned into endless little streets of shops. There were cultural sorts of shops from all over the world. And, this wasn’t the typical black market stuff we usually see. Those things were on the outside of the market. Not only were the shops and diverse people really cool to see, there was fresh ethnic food all over. People brought out little stands and little cookers with all kinds of fresh organic food and cooked and served it to you right there. We actually didn’t even buy any because as we walked through, we got so many samples, we were satisfied.
We bought a couple pieces of affordable, but original jewelry. We realized as soon as we got there that we had to be really careful with our money because it didn’t go very far. Prices were twice as much as in the states, AND, the pound is 2 times as much as the dollar. That means a typical 4 dollar item costs $16 with the conversion and price increase. It adds up really fast. Luckily for us we were spending Euros that we already had, and things only cost us double, but we still knew in the back of our minds the worth of our money.
When we were tired of walking we found a nice spot with all kinds of young people like us sitting outside next to a small river by a little bar having drinks. We each had one then decided that we would try to catch the sunset from the Westminster bridge (it said it was a good spot in our guide book). When we got there however, the London fog started to roll in and we couldn’t see anything. We glanced at Big Ben and the houses of parliament, but those typical sorts of postcard images didn’t have any impression on us other that reminding us of where we were. I didn’t even want a picture, because I didn’t want a photo that I’ve seen before. The weather started changing fast and we were dressed for hot weather, so we decided to find a place to eat. This was not an easy task. We just wanted fish and chips, but every place we went was either way too expensive or was completely packed with people and we needed to sit. I think we walked around for an hour and a half before we found some food. It was good, but we were both so tired we were focused more on finishing and heading back to Keith’s. We sent him a text but after that we were never able to communicate…we lost service on the way back. But, somehow as soon as we got to our train stop, Keith was pulling up to pick us up. He has got some wicked intuition, almost as much as a woman which is scary, but really great for all of us.
That night we had some ice cream then were fast asleep. The next morning we woke up to make some breakfast then were back to the city. This day we had no set plans either. We thought about going to the Brittish Museum then decided to go to a café to have a nice warm drink and a pastry to start our day. When we left there we decided that we were just not in the mood to spend the day at that museum and we happened to run into the Natural History Museum, so we went there instead. There was an exhibit of the Sexual Nature of Animals that looked really interesting but once we were inside found out that you had to pay for it (all the museums are free however). So we just went through the entire museum instead. It was definitely worth it. The dinosaur part was incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it. There were over a hundred dinosaur skeletons. The exhibits were incredible, but the museum itself was almost more stunning. Every inch of it was adorned with moldings of animals and plants. It was like the cathedral of natural life.
The museum took up most of Saturday. When night began to fall we thought that it would be great to go to a musical while we were there since there were so many of them. We went to this ticket office that was selling last minute tickets, and out of the 40 shows that were playing, there were only 3 that were not sold out. We got cheap tickets to a play called Mouse Trap and ran to find it since it started 10 minutes later. It was quite entertaining although our seats were pretty high up and it was hard to hear everything.
We left the play and tried to call Keith and got through once again. He said he’d meet us at the station. We got back late and got on Skype right away to call Pam, Blake’s mom because it was her birthday! It was nice to talk to her and the Argotsinger family, and they all got to meet the famous Keith that we are always telling them about.
We went to our room soon after to pack because in the morning we had to get up early to catch our flight. That night, daylight savings time changed to our unawareness and it caused much confusion the next morning. We got to our flight in time, but poor Keith had to drive back home just to change then head right back out the same direction to do a service that morning. We are so grateful to have had the weekend with him. He is one of the most gracious and thoughtful people I have met. Visiting Keith was worth the trip to London more than anything else.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Community of Christ Madrid
During our time in Spain, we have been meeting with other members or potential members of my church, the Community of Christ. It has been a challenge coordinating the group, not only due to schedules but communication barriers. While English is the most common language spoken in our group, we also speak Spanish and a few speak a Philippine dialect common to one of the islands. It has actually been a lot of fun for me working around these challenges and finding ways for us to worship together. Keith McMillan (our friend in London!) and Richard James have done a tremendous job at helping us get the resources and materials we need to make the group run smoothly. They visit us nearly every month to check in and help answer questions that arise from our discussions and to provide the opportunity to provide further ministry to the group. During the weekend of March 18 we had the pleasure to meet some new church leaders that came along with Keith and Richard. Jim Slaughter, the President of the Apostles (a very high leadership position in my church), and his wife, Jan, visited the group and we had the opportunity to show them around Madrid. We met first with Jim, Keith and Richard Friday night for a dinner out by the airport, close their hotel. Before meeting for dinner, I had called back home and spoke with my dad to find out that he had gone to college with Jim and thought Jim might remember him. Well, as it turns out Jim not only knew my dad but even had some stories about his college days! It never ceases to amaze me at how small the world seems to be. Madrid has become the place for us to meet and make connections with people back home. So back to dinner, we found a restaurant that didn’t serve too much grass (that is what Richard calls salad) and decided on a place where they had BBQ ribs on the menu. You might think ribs are not a very typical Spanish food and I think that I would assume the same thing. But as I have seen more restaurants than not with BBQ ribs on the menu I am confident to say it is a very common food now in Spain, as well as hamburgers. Three of the five of us ordered the ribs and the other two ordered burgers. I told Jim we’d have to try some more “typical” Spanish food when his wife arrived the next day. We all enjoyed our food and the conversation.
The following day Jan flew in around 11 and we met up with them about noon in the Plaza del Sol to begin the tour of the city. It is a fitting place to meet because Sol (which means sun) is the center of the city as well as the country! The bear and strawberry tree is the most common meeting place in the plaza and this is where we would meet as well. As we waited, we were asked if we were meeting there for the tour, I said I was but I was going to be giving my own walking tour. The man who asked me made a comment about me being his competition with a friendly tone, but I assured him I was merely showing around friends. As I spoke with him, I recognized him as the free walking tour guide that showed me around the city 3 years ago! Pretty wild. He even offered me his number to inquire about a position with the company. They were in need of bilingual speakers to lead tours. Maybe next year.
We finally found my tour group, Richard, Jim and Jan wandering around the plaza snapping pictures (Jim is quite the photographer). After introductions we began telling them about Sol and our plan for the rest of tour. We showed them around Plaza Mayor, where a political rally was in action. We needed to find some good food, especially for Jan who hadn’t had much rest in the last two days and was fighting jet lag. Blake mentioned finding some tapas bars, and when Jan thought she heard “topless bars,” she hesitantly said she wasn’t quite up for that questioning the values of the new Madrid group. We clarified our intentions jokingly.
We took them to the place we knew to have the best tapas we’d ever had, San Miguel market. It is an all glass indoor fresh food market that has obviously had quite a bit of renovation recently. It was very busy there and although we could not sit down, we proved that it was worth it to try this food. They were kind enough to give us a little money and let us fight the crowds to get the freshest tapas imaginable.
Caitlin picked up a plate of 12 Spanish cheeses, and another of an array of olives. I found a plate of pulpo (octopus) smothered in garlic butter and mini bocadillos with jamon iberico and chorizo. It was simply exquisite. We enjoyed the street artists and performers as we passed through and headed towards Plaza de Espana, where we topped off our full bellies with a café. We then walked by the Royal Palace. By the time we made those rounds it was high time for a siesta and we agreed to part ways and then meet up again later for a dinner with the entire group.
Caitlin and I had plans to then meet some friends at the park, but after our decision to walk across the entire city to Retiro Park (it was a beautiful day!) we were exhausted and out of time. So we just went home.
That night we went on a wild search for the location of this restaurant one of the other group members knew of that was in the north part of the city. With Metro closures and plenty of miscommunication we found the place an hour later than our predetermined time. So in Spanish time, we were punctual. The restaurant we ate at was a buffet and was quite delicious and expensive. We had a nice time then retired for the night.
The following day (Sunday) we decided to meet at Retiro Park for an outdoor service I was putting together. It turned out to be a lovely day and equal as lovely service. We found a nice place to sit in the grass and I led the service with my guitar. Janice (one of Philippine members) and her sisters also provided some beautiful music singing a song from their hymnbook from back home. Jan gave a wonderful message and the entire worship service fit together perfectly. It was a great success. Afterwards we had a nice discussion about the church and its history and as the day moved on we all had to part ways once again. As we departed we had forgotten to say goodbye to Keith while he was visiting the loo. He called us promptly to see if we were still in the park and since we’d only made it as far as the small lake with the boats we decided to meet there. While we waited a huge parade of ambulances, police cars and moto cops all rolled up with screaming alarms.
We thought something terrible had happened. As Keith, Richard, Jim and Jan came up just after the brigade they questioned us about what was going on. We told them we had no idea, so Keith and Jim (with his large carmea) went off to find out what was going on. They came back with info and pictures about the situation. A young boy had stuck his head through the marble bars that overlooked the lake and got his head stuck. Apparently half of the police of force of Madrid was needed for the situation but as they freed the boy there was a standing ovation from all of the onlookers. It was an exciting end to the day. We said our goodbyes and agreed that there would soon be a sermon using the story of that small boy.
Blake
The following day Jan flew in around 11 and we met up with them about noon in the Plaza del Sol to begin the tour of the city. It is a fitting place to meet because Sol (which means sun) is the center of the city as well as the country! The bear and strawberry tree is the most common meeting place in the plaza and this is where we would meet as well. As we waited, we were asked if we were meeting there for the tour, I said I was but I was going to be giving my own walking tour. The man who asked me made a comment about me being his competition with a friendly tone, but I assured him I was merely showing around friends. As I spoke with him, I recognized him as the free walking tour guide that showed me around the city 3 years ago! Pretty wild. He even offered me his number to inquire about a position with the company. They were in need of bilingual speakers to lead tours. Maybe next year.
We finally found my tour group, Richard, Jim and Jan wandering around the plaza snapping pictures (Jim is quite the photographer). After introductions we began telling them about Sol and our plan for the rest of tour. We showed them around Plaza Mayor, where a political rally was in action. We needed to find some good food, especially for Jan who hadn’t had much rest in the last two days and was fighting jet lag. Blake mentioned finding some tapas bars, and when Jan thought she heard “topless bars,” she hesitantly said she wasn’t quite up for that questioning the values of the new Madrid group. We clarified our intentions jokingly.
We took them to the place we knew to have the best tapas we’d ever had, San Miguel market. It is an all glass indoor fresh food market that has obviously had quite a bit of renovation recently. It was very busy there and although we could not sit down, we proved that it was worth it to try this food. They were kind enough to give us a little money and let us fight the crowds to get the freshest tapas imaginable.
Caitlin picked up a plate of 12 Spanish cheeses, and another of an array of olives. I found a plate of pulpo (octopus) smothered in garlic butter and mini bocadillos with jamon iberico and chorizo. It was simply exquisite. We enjoyed the street artists and performers as we passed through and headed towards Plaza de Espana, where we topped off our full bellies with a café. We then walked by the Royal Palace. By the time we made those rounds it was high time for a siesta and we agreed to part ways and then meet up again later for a dinner with the entire group.
Caitlin and I had plans to then meet some friends at the park, but after our decision to walk across the entire city to Retiro Park (it was a beautiful day!) we were exhausted and out of time. So we just went home.
That night we went on a wild search for the location of this restaurant one of the other group members knew of that was in the north part of the city. With Metro closures and plenty of miscommunication we found the place an hour later than our predetermined time. So in Spanish time, we were punctual. The restaurant we ate at was a buffet and was quite delicious and expensive. We had a nice time then retired for the night.
The following day (Sunday) we decided to meet at Retiro Park for an outdoor service I was putting together. It turned out to be a lovely day and equal as lovely service. We found a nice place to sit in the grass and I led the service with my guitar. Janice (one of Philippine members) and her sisters also provided some beautiful music singing a song from their hymnbook from back home. Jan gave a wonderful message and the entire worship service fit together perfectly. It was a great success. Afterwards we had a nice discussion about the church and its history and as the day moved on we all had to part ways once again. As we departed we had forgotten to say goodbye to Keith while he was visiting the loo. He called us promptly to see if we were still in the park and since we’d only made it as far as the small lake with the boats we decided to meet there. While we waited a huge parade of ambulances, police cars and moto cops all rolled up with screaming alarms.
We thought something terrible had happened. As Keith, Richard, Jim and Jan came up just after the brigade they questioned us about what was going on. We told them we had no idea, so Keith and Jim (with his large carmea) went off to find out what was going on. They came back with info and pictures about the situation. A young boy had stuck his head through the marble bars that overlooked the lake and got his head stuck. Apparently half of the police of force of Madrid was needed for the situation but as they freed the boy there was a standing ovation from all of the onlookers. It was an exciting end to the day. We said our goodbyes and agreed that there would soon be a sermon using the story of that small boy.
Blake
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