Episode 20: Westwood Church, Skype & A Very Long Poem

I attended Westwood Church this morning, just a short walk away from Westwood Campus. I will in all likelihood be attending this church from now on, as I'm reasonably comfortable there. Plus it has the advantage of being near to where I live, and seeing as how my resolve to apply for a transfer has all but dissolved, it makes sense to pick a church that's nearby anyway. It's Anglican enough to remind me of COGS, yet it's also something I would want to see my church transformed into ultimately. I'll definitely be going back next week at the very least, since Natalie wants to come along and see what it's like. There's a graveyard within the church grounds, which didn't strike me as freaky, but rather nice actually. I suppose you could say that it felt very English. I still think drinking from the same chalice is a little weird, but I smiled inside when the Sursum Corda, the opening words of the Communion liturgy were projected onto the screen:

Presider: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Presider: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them to the Lord.
Presider: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

Such simple words really, but it is the ritual of call and response that lends them gravitas. One day, I will attend a Catholic Mass, but only if it's held in Latin. Maybe I should pay a trip to Vatican City during one of my term vacations?

I Skyped my family because my dad wanted to test out the webcam that he'd bought. It worked fine, so basically I got to see my family for the first time since I left Singapore. By now the initial euphoria of being abroad should have died down, so I feel somewhat safe in declaring that no, I don't feel homesick. I might be thousands of miles away from the people that I've known for 21 years of my life (and counting), but I can deal with it. Not that I don't miss them, but it's not like I migrated or anything. I'll be back, and eventually, for good. There are times when I wish I could just SMS Shirley or Eugene to complain about something or someone, but there was a time when I didn't know either Shirley or Eugene, and I did fine keeping my complaints to myself back then. So that's what I do now, and it's surprisingly easy to just wait until I get back to my room to contact them through IM or Facebook. Eugene's finally arrived in London anyway, so he'll be contactable by SMS soon enough, I expect. If you see this, tell me your number!

I've also just finished writing my 60-line poem for Wednesday's EN124 seminar! I feel accomplished. I showed it to Shirley when only the first 20 couplets were finished, and she said that her first reaction was to laugh because she could identify with what was being said. That's basically what I was hoping for. Admittedly, a lot of the references will only make sense to someone familiar with the situation in Singapore and the (mis)perceptions that others have about my country. I don't mind if people don't understand the poem immediately, and I certainly wouldn't expect them to, unless they were fellow Singaporeans. Maybe I'll show it to some of the other Singaporean freshers, just to see their reactions. Or maybe not. I don't think they'd get the point, probably just smile politely and say it's nice. So anyway, that's one major task out of the way. Now I need to tackle the translation for EN121, the presentation for EN122, and my French homework. Thank God for a slack Monday timetable that consists of one lecture at 5 pm!