Last one from the UK...

Okay, so I know it has been a long time, but I have a lot to tell you. Since my last post, I went to the Southwest Coast of England to St. Ives, Cornwall to the beach with some friends. The weather was absolutely amazing! See the picture...I spent a lot of time on the beach with some wonderful people, and I made some new friends in the process. The food there was great, and the scenery was just as good! Shortly after my return from the coast, Sarah and I spent a couple of days in London. We went to the Victoria and Albert museum, the Science museum, the British Museum, Camden Market, China Town, and Leicster Square (said Les-ter). I have so many pictures from that you will have to check out my facebook album for it. Then, the Homerton May ball got into full swing. For all of you who do not know what a May ball is, it is the last hoorah for all of the students in Cambridge. Every college has one, and they are extravagant. Black tie, themes (ours was Bond), and the event goes from 6pm to 6am...we even take a survivor's photo in the morning. It was a blast. They had a casino inside, bond movies playing all night, live bands (Noah and the Whale played!), a carousel, and a ton of food and drink. See next photo...I stayed the whole night, and had a choir rehearsal at 10am the next morning. Interesting day on very little sleep. However, as soon as I caught up on my sleep, Suicide Sunday happened. Suicide Sunday is the day that everyone in the university is done with exams, so a lot of the colleges host garden parties with pimms, bbq's, and just a lot of sun. I got burnt, but I had an absolutely wonderful time. Oi...I have one more May Ball to attend on Wednesday night, and the dress code is white tie (Wikipedia it). The choir records this weekend, and I will provide information for all of you as to how to find the recording after it is finished...I know it will be on itunes, but not sure what is going to be called yet. I leave a week from today to return to the States, and will be back in KC for a couple of days before I return to Arkansas for the month of July to spend time with the family and help at Praiseworks. I will then go back to KC for the end of July on to try and find a job and study for the GRE so that I can get into grad school. Okay, so that's it for now, but I hope that all of you are doing well, and know that I miss you tremendously. This year has provided me with the most amazing opportunities to study with the brightest people on the planet, sing in an amazing choir in one of the historic chapels in Cambridge, I have travelled Europed and toured it with the choir, I am to record and be on an album with the choir, I have gone to balls, dinners, and formals with Lords and Ladies, Vicars, Bishops, Presidents of the Colleges, and even the Vice-chancellor of the university. All in all, I think that this has been a year well spent. I have made friends here that will last a lifetime, and I can't wait to come back to visit them all. Tiddly-pip and what what...Cheerio!

Catching up as usual...

Hey yall...So, the beer festival was AWESOME!!! Myself and the four other guys I went with reverted to six-year-old-boy-in-toy-store mode when we entered the tent with over 200 beers...we spent 5 1/2 hours there! Most of my friends are starting their exams, so I am left to entertain myself, but I haven't felt too good the past couple of days, so it's not like I could do much anyways. However, immediately before I came under the weather, my friend Josh Jowitt suggested that we have a Pimm's afternoon...so we did. Look up "Pimm's Cup" on wikipedia if you wish, but imagine sangria based on gin with citrus fruits, strawberries, and cucumber slices on ice on a hot summer day with the sun out. We had a great time. Also, when my choir records in a couple of weeks, we will wind up on iTunes, so you will only be a click away from hearing our angellic voices! Enjoy the pictures, and I will try to update this after this weekend since I will be in St. Ives all next week. Much love,

Cody

The week ahead...

Not too much exciting this past week, but I did go to St. John's College Chapel yesterday morning for the sung Eucharist (that's communion for all you Baptists out there). It was a beautiful and very insightful service...more than I can say for the preacher at Queens' Evensong last night....she was a bore. Anyways, tomorrow is Cambridge's Annual Beer Festival! It actually started today, but goes on until Saturday, and we are going tomorrow...Over 200 real ales, 80 ciders and perrys (that's pear-cider), and local wine too...website: http://www.cambridgebeerfestival.com/summer/. Enjoy, I do. Also, Thursday at 1:00 in the neighboring town of Ely, the William Jewell Concert Choir is going to have a concert as a part of their tour of England and Scotland, and I can't wait to go to hear and see my friends from school. After the concert, I intend to show them around Cambridge before they go to evensong at King's College. I have my own evensong that night, so I can't join them, but we are singing great music at the sung Eucharist for Ascension Day. I have really enjoyed getting to know the High Anglican tradition...I promise to update this later on this week with pictures of the beer festival and the choir if they will let me take pictures, but until then I leave you with a gratutitous picture of friends and joy (from left: Luke, Tobias, Me, and Josh)...Much love to all.

Yo! So I have to say that the English Springtime is absolutely wonderful. It has been a cool but sunny 60 or 65 most of the time since I have returned. I have gotten to catch back up with all of my friends here who are starting to stress out about exams (I don't have to take them until the end of my senior year, so although it is nice now, my time will come). Choir has been great so far this term with absolutely wonderful music, and great times with my friends in choir. I have become rather proficient at the game of croquet, and challenge any of you to beat me upon my return. I am starting to prepare for next year, so I am already looking into graduate schools and fellowships (coming back to Cambridge maybe?). Picked up a GRE prep book, and already feeling the pressure to succeed again in that all-too-American fashion. You can take the boy out of America...Also, per my mother's request (happy Mother's day again btw, since I know you will read this soon), I have posted a couple of pictures of the more common streets in Cambridge...what the Brits would call the "High Street." This is very similart to our concept of "Downtown," which they don't understand because it is not geographically "down." I hasten to point out that the "Highstreet" is not "up," and they scamper away in shame in their red coats. As seen in the picture here, The Mitre is one of my favorite pubs in Cambridge...It is right on the river and has an incription inside that reads "Here, many drinks and food rended upon the river once depended." Enjoy the pictures, and I hope to hear from all of you soon. God bless!

It's been a long time...

Dear Everybody,

I know that I have been really crap at these posts ever since I went home, but I'm back, I'm busy, and I am in business...sounded catchy didn't it? Anyways, ever since I have been back, I have just been trying to get used to things again. It is amazing how much you can forget about in a few short weeks. I loved being home, but I also love being here. It is incredible to be taught by the people in this university who quite literally wrote the book on their subjects. The academic atmosphere here is astounding, and it encourages me to look beyond my small little world that seems exponentially smaller as time goes by. I haven't taken many pictures since I have bee back yet, but I do have a few more from France...so here's one of them. This is the choir singing with the cathedral choir at the cathedral in Angers (pronounced "On-sjay" for you French unsavvy) I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that I am here for less than two more months, and am facing the reality of having to face reality when I get back. If any of you reading this feel like giving me a job that doesn't require a sledge-hammer or shovel for when I get back, it would make my life a lot easier :). Much love to all of you, and God bless.

Cody

So, France...

It was awesome! As we rode into Angers on the coach, we could see the river La Maine and the castle...it was absolutely astounding. We were immediately greeted by our host families, and were carted off to our host homes. Our family consisted of two parents and, wait for it...five children! They then graciously accepted my friend Geoff and I into their home. The parent's names were Larent and Emmanuel, and the children ranged in age from 3 to 15. In ascending order their names are: Charlotte, Margot, Ines, Quentin (the only boy), and Julie. We had the most amazing food every night for dinner that, were I to describe in detail here, I would begin to drool on my keyboard and cease to blog. For all of our sakes, I will just tell you that it was AWESOME!!! We sang at the Catholic university, the Cathedral at Angers (in front of some 1,000 people including royalty, clergy, and politicians), and the Cathedral at Saumur (they train the horses for the military in Saumur). Every day was packed with rehearsals, sight-seeing, and performances. I have posted tons of pictures on facebook, so if you fancy a peek at them, I suggest looking there. I leave at 6:50AM from Cambridge tomorrow morning, and I will arrive at Little Rock Airport at 10:35PM local (that would be 2:35AM Cambridge time). If all goes well, I will travel for almost 22hrs, so keep me in your prayers and thoughts, and I will hopefully see many of you back in the States very very soon! Au revoir!

Just a Quick Note...

I am literally leaving in five minutes to go to France, and I just wanted to let everyone know how excited I am, and that I will be in Angers, France to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the father of Margeret of Anjou (one of the foundresses of Queens' college). It is apparently the most beautiful city in France, and I will bring back copious amounts of pictures for you all, and will sample the delicious wines, cheeses, and breads for all of you....Auviore!