My time is London, England was one of the best weeks of my life. I think that any time that I am traveling anywhere is listed as some of the best experiences I have had in my lifetime. Most of that travel was with family, so it was really nice to go out on my own for once and be able to do just about anything (as long as it didn’t involve the US Embassy). London is a place of cultural depth and knowledge. There is no other one place that you could go to and learn about so many different religions or cultures without have to board a different plane every other day. While we were in London I advanced in my street smarts as well as my school smarts so writing this paper should be fairly easy, even though my journal already discuses my experiences that I had, which makes this paper seem slightly redundant.
Let’s first discuss the religion aspect of the trip. We saw three different temples which were the Hindu Temple, and beholding His divine form. The ritual was very interesting and not very active for the people doing the worshiping.
The next temple was the London Mosque where met Omar and he was a pretty cool dude. I think one of the most important things about the Mosque was its use of space. It wasn’t just a place to go worship twice a day; it was a place of life, education, worship, and family. The giant dome in the prayer wasn’t just there for show, it was there as a natural voice amplifier. There was a prayer room, library for soteriology, pre-school, and place to get food, all in one place of worship. This shows that religion to the Hindu population isn’t just about praying, it’s a whole lifestyle to them, and Omar was perfect example of it. The “rug” mark on his forehead that showed his devotion to his faith really showed his dedication and I feel that it is something to be proud of.
Finally we visited the Buddhist temple, which was fairly smaller than the rest of the temples, but was one of the better looking ones with its elegant gold and out of the daily grind of the city. After stepping into the temple, you were greeted to a shrine of several different statues and meaning. The walls were covered in murals that detailed the history of Buddhism and its meaning to those who worship it. The monks that lived here devoted their lives to meditation, understanding, and worshiping the way of life that is Buddhism. To me, this practice took the most dedication out of a person and would be the hardest to do.
Well, besides all of this religion stuff, we visited the British Museum, the V&A, National Gallery, and Tate Modern for more of the Arts and Humanities feel. In the British Museum, we say a bunch of history that the English had collected from all of over the world. What I really enjoyed out of these places was the V&A. There were so many sculptures here that were just so cool. I mean it is one thing to talk about them in class, but it is completely different when you actually see them in person. I enjoyed looking at the David sculpture from above but it would have been nice if that exhibit had been open. This David sculpture by Michelangelo was really something different than all the other David statues. This David is depicted before the battle with Goliath, instead of during or after. His sling is over his shoulder as he looks out over the countryside of r his attacker. David’s proportions are off as well, but that was due to the face that people would be looking up at the statue, making it seem the proper human shape and size. Another thing that was really cool was the Apollodorus of Damascus. This column of Trajan, Rome was a remarkable achievement is sculpture which depicts a military campaign with Roman realism. Ethan and I tried to get this whole pillar in a picture with one of us, but that didn’t work out so well due to us small people and the pillars massive size. I think the final thing that I really enjoyed from the V&A was Leonardo da Vinci’s Notebook. It was so tiny, but had so many of his thoughts and ideas written in it. It was also written in mirror writing, so one would have to read it via mirror to receive its information.
The National Gallery was fun but only because Kekoa was there to take us around and tell us about the paintings that were important and those we should know about. I hate all those uncomfortable museum tours that make you hate the stuff that you are looking at because it’s so incredibly boring. My favorite pieces of artwork were The Four Elements painted by Joachin Beucklaer. These four paintings make up a group illustrating the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. In each portrait there is some sort of bible story depicted in the back round. In Earth, the tiny figures of the Holy Family can be seen crossing a bridge in the far distance on the left. In the Air painting, the prodigal son is shown leaning against a woman in a debauched manner. In the painting that represents Fire one can see Christ seated with Martha and Mary. Finally, it the Water Painting, framed by the central arch is the scene of Christ appearing to the disciples for the third time after his Resurrection to perform the miracle by which fish appear in hitherto empty nets. It was fun to look at these works of art and figure out which story was which.
I greatly enjoyed my trip to London and I am glad that I got to experience it with such a good group of people and professors. I look forward to more meetings at Uppitys and reminiscing in the hallways of this college. For me, it was more than just a trip, it was a time where I gained 14 new friends or strengthens the connections I already had with people. Maybe Italy is in my future, but that always depends on how much it would cost. So do us a favor Kekoa, and keep the price down will ya?
Let’s first discuss the religion aspect of the trip. We saw three different temples which were the Hindu Temple, and beholding His divine form. The ritual was very interesting and not very active for the people doing the worshiping.
The next temple was the London Mosque where met Omar and he was a pretty cool dude. I think one of the most important things about the Mosque was its use of space. It wasn’t just a place to go worship twice a day; it was a place of life, education, worship, and family. The giant dome in the prayer wasn’t just there for show, it was there as a natural voice amplifier. There was a prayer room, library for soteriology, pre-school, and place to get food, all in one place of worship. This shows that religion to the Hindu population isn’t just about praying, it’s a whole lifestyle to them, and Omar was perfect example of it. The “rug” mark on his forehead that showed his devotion to his faith really showed his dedication and I feel that it is something to be proud of.
Finally we visited the Buddhist temple, which was fairly smaller than the rest of the temples, but was one of the better looking ones with its elegant gold and out of the daily grind of the city. After stepping into the temple, you were greeted to a shrine of several different statues and meaning. The walls were covered in murals that detailed the history of Buddhism and its meaning to those who worship it. The monks that lived here devoted their lives to meditation, understanding, and worshiping the way of life that is Buddhism. To me, this practice took the most dedication out of a person and would be the hardest to do.
Well, besides all of this religion stuff, we visited the British Museum, the V&A, National Gallery, and Tate Modern for more of the Arts and Humanities feel. In the British Museum, we say a bunch of history that the English had collected from all of over the world. What I really enjoyed out of these places was the V&A. There were so many sculptures here that were just so cool. I mean it is one thing to talk about them in class, but it is completely different when you actually see them in person. I enjoyed looking at the David sculpture from above but it would have been nice if that exhibit had been open. This David sculpture by Michelangelo was really something different than all the other David statues. This David is depicted before the battle with Goliath, instead of during or after. His sling is over his shoulder as he looks out over the countryside of r his attacker. David’s proportions are off as well, but that was due to the face that people would be looking up at the statue, making it seem the proper human shape and size. Another thing that was really cool was the Apollodorus of Damascus. This column of Trajan, Rome was a remarkable achievement is sculpture which depicts a military campaign with Roman realism. Ethan and I tried to get this whole pillar in a picture with one of us, but that didn’t work out so well due to us small people and the pillars massive size. I think the final thing that I really enjoyed from the V&A was Leonardo da Vinci’s Notebook. It was so tiny, but had so many of his thoughts and ideas written in it. It was also written in mirror writing, so one would have to read it via mirror to receive its information.
The National Gallery was fun but only because Kekoa was there to take us around and tell us about the paintings that were important and those we should know about. I hate all those uncomfortable museum tours that make you hate the stuff that you are looking at because it’s so incredibly boring. My favorite pieces of artwork were The Four Elements painted by Joachin Beucklaer. These four paintings make up a group illustrating the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. In each portrait there is some sort of bible story depicted in the back round. In Earth, the tiny figures of the Holy Family can be seen crossing a bridge in the far distance on the left. In the Air painting, the prodigal son is shown leaning against a woman in a debauched manner. In the painting that represents Fire one can see Christ seated with Martha and Mary. Finally, it the Water Painting, framed by the central arch is the scene of Christ appearing to the disciples for the third time after his Resurrection to perform the miracle by which fish appear in hitherto empty nets. It was fun to look at these works of art and figure out which story was which.
I greatly enjoyed my trip to London and I am glad that I got to experience it with such a good group of people and professors. I look forward to more meetings at Uppitys and reminiscing in the hallways of this college. For me, it was more than just a trip, it was a time where I gained 14 new friends or strengthens the connections I already had with people. Maybe Italy is in my future, but that always depends on how much it would cost. So do us a favor Kekoa, and keep the price down will ya?
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