Hola, LSE!

We finally moved into our hostel at Central London today.

It was regretful that we couldn’t stay with Laipeng’s uncle’s for longer. He is a fantastic host and has been very kind to me, cooking us meals and even treating us to Chinese food today! He doesn’t have to do this at all – at least not for me – since I’m just Laipeng’s friend. But yeah, staying at his place really gives us a feeling of home away from home.I’m glad we started this trip with our stay there. It really helps to ease us in into the lifestyle here.

We also met his older son, a.k.a Laipeng’s angmoh/ Eurasian cousin, Alexander, during our stay there. In fact, we took over his room! He had to stay in his younger brother’s room as a result (the younger brother is away at boarding school), but he was really cool about it. One thing I realised about these kids who grew up in western countries is that they are very mature and really do behave differently from those who grew up in sheltered environments like Singapore. The most significant difference would probably be their childhood experiences, as they do get a lot of freedom here and well, not a lot of pressure from school, exams and all. So they probably had a more normal childhood than most of us, who probably grew up with our nose stuck into a book most of the time. *envious* I would love to raise my kids in an environment like this, where their creativity could flourish and their talents better nurtured. They seem very much more socially-adept as well.

Okay, enough talk about raising kids haha. This is a travel journal after all.

The hall of residence we’re staying in is called High Holborn, and it’s just minutes away from Chinatown, Leicester Square, Piccadily Circus and other notable sites, and sights, in London…including THE shopping area, Oxford Street (yay!).

But the most important factor, of course, is that it’s about 10 minutes walk to LSE. So we could wake up late and run to school! Haha.

Here are some pictures of the twin ensuite that I share with Abby. The room is pretty spacious, but the toilet is tiny! The entrance is just like a hole in the wall lol.

My (neat) side of the room - well, before I took my things out and messed it up.

My bed in the corner, with a bright night light!

The tiny toilet

Doesn't it look tiny?

The sunset from our bedroom window, beautiful isn't it? Well, perhaps it's also due to my photography skill. *BHB*

After checking in, we went to LSE for registration and proceeded to Holy Trinity Brompton, where Laipeng’s uncle and sons attend. Holy Trinity Brompton, otherwise known as HTB, is the church that gave the world the Alpha course (which Hope Singapore used to do a couple of years back). Hence, I thought it would be worth a look-see before we actually meet up with the Hope Londoners – which we will, soon, once Daniel Cheah (Hope Singapore’s Youth DL) reaches London this week.

Where the Alpha Course all began

The smaller church building from the outside

Anyway, the style of worship at HTB is pretty similar to Hope’s, but the stark difference is that you actually get the original composer/singer of well-known Christian songs, like Here I Am To Worship and Consuming Fire, leading worship. Yes, the man I’m talking about is Tim Hughes, and the P&W he led was a ministering experience. The service was pretty short though, at 1.5 hours, but the HS was present and it was a good and refreshing experience. I hope to drop by a couple more churches if possible, to check out the different styles of worship in England – which, according to LP, is the centre of modern Christianity today.

Anyway, it is getting late and I need to sleep. School is starting tomorrow…I mean, later today. I just hope the course will be a breeze and there will be lots of time to be a tourist here. London has been good so far, praise the Lord for the great weather, and safety and good health. Pray that He’ll continue to bless the rest of our experiences here!

Hope everyone at home is doing well…if there’s anyone reading this at all, that is.