(a true story of a city, foreign students, and adultery)
I studied at King's College, London during the fall semester
of 1998. After landing early in the morning at Heathrow,
taking a train into the heart of the city, and running across
Waterloo bridge to make my entrance interview, my first
few days were a blur. Figuring out how the Underground worked,
where to eat, where to buy my books... London was quickly
teaching me how to hustle. I've heard that the city with
the most streets in the world, is London. I was learning
landmarks, shortcuts, how the neighborhoods linked into
one another, and most importantly, I was learning the pace
of everything.
One of the most important lessons on the pace of the city
concerns rain. Over the course of a week, you come to learn
that there's a general cycle to the rain. At first, I'd
be caught outside without a coat or umbrella. Then I progressed
to carrying these items, but having to clumsily take them
out to make use of them. By the end of my first week, as
predominantly American and Japanese tourists scrambled undercover
when it began to rain, I was able to eat (I ate at least
a third of my meals while walking), pull my coat out of
my bag, put it on, and negotiate the crowds, without breaking
my stride.
Ever since my first night in London, I had been reading
a chapter or two of Ezekiel every night. While I was figuring
out how to live in the city, I was getting anxious to find
a place to worship in it. During an activities fair at school,
I found information on some Asian groups, sports groups,
political groups, and a Christian fellowship group.
On a typically rainy night, I left my apartment, crossed
the bridge, and went up to the marbled columned chapel in
the main building of the college. At the end of the meeting,
one of the fellowship's leaders asked for the foreign students
to stand and introduce themselves. There were only a few
of us: if I remember correctly, from Africa, Spain, Australia,
and the US.
One of the other Americans was a Korean girl from Barnard.
[part 2]
About JC
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