Greece

Pepperdine has a wonderful idea that, while abroad, students should go on what they call an EFT (Educational Feild Trip). For the fall semester, we went to Athens and Santorini. It was an incredible experience and my first trip outside of the UK. I'm basically just going to put up a bunch of pictures and talk about them.

 This photo was taken at the top of the ruins of Delphi. It was about a 3-hour bus ride from Athens but was one of the coolest views. Basically, Delphi was a place were ancient Greeks would come to worship, go the markets, and view sporting events. Most of the place is in ruins now, with only one standing building left. It was an incredible experience. Talk about stepping back into history.

 On that same day we went to a Monastery near Delphi. This is Rebecca and I taking a selfie near the entrance. The monastery was definitely cool, but my favorite part was the awesome view. Also, they sold peanut brittle there and it was fantastic.

 Taken about halfway up the mountain on the way to see the Acropolis. You can see part of the amphitheater in the bottom left corner, but what is really cool about this picture is that you can tell just how high up the  Acropolis is. It was built up high so that you could see it from pretty much anywhere. In fact, it was a huge help in navigating the city. i.e. "Which side of the Acropolis are we on?" and "Our hotel is on the other side of the Acropolis"

 The Acropolis. Self-explanatory. Also, there were A LOT of people up there. 

 Still at the top of the Acropolis, where there's a Greece flag and a place to overlook the rest of Athens. Point if you can spot me.

 The Acropolis from Mars Hill. Mars Hill is the place where ancient Greeks used to hold court. Also, this is the sight of one of Paul's sermon. In Acts 17:16-34 Paul talks to the people of Athens about the one true God. "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands." (verse 24). Nicely done Paul, well-placed sermon.

Oia in Santorini is the place with the beautiful blue-domed churches. We had to take a seven-hour boat ride to get here, on which, nearly half of my fellow students got seasick. In my opinion, it was worth it. Oia (pronounced ee-ah, as we were told at least 20 times throughout the week), was the most beautiful part of Greece I got to see.  

 #candidmoment, right? Oia is full of photo opportunities, so why not take advantage?

We spent an evening in Oia, so we got to watch the incredible sunset from an old castle. It was the most relaxing, enjoyable time of the trip in my opinion. Nothing to do, nowhere to go except hang out with a lovely group of people and watch the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. Sorry Pepperdine, but the Oia sunset has got you beat.

 Take all the selfies!

Black Sands beach in Santorini. Featuring my new favorite thing, the ukulele I bought in Athens. I had such a fun time hanging out, watching the gentle waves and playing the ukulele for the other tourist on the beach.










Greece was an incredible experience. There was a lot of travel involved and we were wiped out for the next week, but it was all worth it. What a great first EFT. Next semester we got to Jordan, so stay tuned ;)

Cheers,
Sarah

Hamlet

Hello! Been awhile hasn't it?

Alright, let's talk about the most exciting thing that has happened to me since I've been here: Hamlet.

Taken around 8 a.m. when the sun was finally up. SO EXCITED

It began at 4 a.m. in the morning, I snuck as quietly as I could out of the room so I wouldn't disturb my roommate and piled into a taxi with 9 other intensely excited and overly tired girls. Some of us are Shakespeare nerds, some of us really love Sherlock, some of us really love Benedict Cumberbatch, some of us (me) could not believe that their favorite actor was going to perform as their favorite literary character. We got in line, only 11 people in front of us, and waited until 10:30 a.m. to get one of 30, day tickets to see Benedict Cumberbatch in Hamlet. It was cold, it was early, there was no place to pee until 7 a.m., but it was all worth it. Everyone in my group fell asleep on the floor in front of the box office, when the kind workers finally let us inside, but not me. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't believe what was about to happen. We got the tickets. I cried, I laughed, I still didn't go to sleep when we finally got back to the house around 1 p.m.

At the play! Still can't believe his happened.

I can't tell you how much I love Hamlet. I started off not liking the book in high school because I didn't understand. I read it again my freshman year of college, and I absolutely loved it. Hamlet is such a complex, emotional character. I've spent a year watching every interpretation of him that I can get my hands on. I want to see all different sides of the character because he can be played in so many different ways. He is the most complex character I've ever read about and his issues are moral dilemmas that most of us are scared to even think about. He is a bit selfish, but I don't understand how people who portray him as wishy-washy or idiotic. I want to see every side of him, and I'm not just gushing over my favorite actor when I say Benedict Cumberbatch was incredible. I'm not going to say that he was the best ever, but he's the best I've seen. I just solidified my love for Hamlet and my adoration of Benedict. My favorite line of his was "Am I a coward?" It's really simple, but the way Benedict said it really conveyed the character to me and showed me the core problem he is facing. Hamlet doesn't want to be a coward by not taking action, but taking the life of his uncle isn't something to take lightly.

The show itself was incredible: all of the actors, the set, the lighting. Honestly, I can't stop talking about it.
So after the show, Benedict came to the stage door and signed autographs. After seeing the show, I wasn't quick enough to say hi or get an autograph, but I did get this video where he points at me and says thanks.

You can't see him in this picture, but you can see just how crazy everyone is about him 

I have to admit though that I wasn't satisfied with just that video. I had a really strong desire to tell him that I really admired his work and thought his portray of Hamlet was amazing, and there was only one way to do that. Go back to the theater and wait. So a couple of my friends and I went back to the stage door a couple of weeks later, about an hour before the show ended and waited. I've spent a lot of time at this theater. A group of girls literally laid on top of me and pushed into my back trying to get closer. I really hate crowds and my personal bubble is more like a defensive wall, but I stuck it out and eventually, Benedict came out to say hello. I got his autograph on my copy of Hamlet, I gave him a letter where I raved about how much I loved Hamlet and appreciated his interpretation, and I talked to him for just the briefest of moments. All I got the chance to say was "I really love Hamlet, and I thought you did an amazing job." He said thank you. I also got to talk to many of the other actors and tell them all about my love for their performance. Mission accomplished.

Benedict's Signature on the cover page of my Hamlet book. 

Every time I think about it, I honestly just can't believe it. It just so happened that my favorite actor was acting in my favorite play while I just so happened to be studying in London and they just decided to save thirty, day tickets for poor, crazy college students like me. It all worked out so perfectly and I'm so crazily happy it did.