Cambridge News

I am fortunate enough to be a columnist for the Lee University school newspaper, The Clarion, and being my first experience with journalism writing, I don't promise literary genius. All that to say, this is my first article printed for them, along with some more pictures I enjoyed:

Imagine a line of 22 students, wobbling along narrow stone streets with double-decker buses and cars rushing past. The 2009 Cambridge group has arrived in Europe from Lee University. For two and a half months, myself and 20 other Lee students will be touring England, Ireland and Europe.

We begin our distant travels in the town of Cambridge. Our base camp is the Hamilton Hotel, one of several old brick buildings squeezed together along Chesterton Street. Because of the narrow streets and the lack of parking, the entire town is overrun with bikes.Though this may not seem like such a difficult mode of transportation, trying to navigate the web of city streets while wearing layers of rain-proof clothing on skinny bikes takes quite a lot of skill. Not to mention the fact that we have to ride on the left side of the road. With the loss of all orientation and navigation nearly impossible, I find it best to just enjoy the scenery.

Cambridge is a melting pot of all nationalities. At the center of the town is an open market full of all kinds of booths, from antique British coins to produce markets. Each street has its own character. I came upon an old book store, barely the size of my bedroom, with stacks of antique books covering the walls. Right next door is an equally small and quaint coffee and tea shop with about two tables and a small deli case.

The University of Cambridge is not one single college, as I had assumed, but actually a collection of colleges, crammed together along the river Cam. Each college was built at different times, dating back to the fourteenth century. Kings College, built by England’s monarchs, is the most commonly known college in Cambridge.The chapel, with its intricate marble carvings stretching up the walls and flowing into a spectacular patterned ceiling, was absolutely breathtaking. I was able to go to the evensong service this Friday and listened to the delicate and trained voices of their boys choir as they gave the service.

Unlike the church services I am used to, with a stage and a center pulpit, the structure and seating in the chapel were quite different. The choir and audience lined along the walls facing each other with a center isle in between. The lesson was read from the back of the audience to emphasize Christ as the head and the collective body. We stood for the songs and the reading of the lessons and knelt for prayer. At one point, as everyone suddenly turned to the front altar, I assumed we were about to leave and grabbed my bag. I was about to make a dash for the aisle when I realized in time that no one else was moving.

These four days have already flown by and tomorrow we leave for Stratford-Upon-Avon, the home of William Shakespeare, and later we will spend a few days in Bath. I would love to stay and explore more of Cambridge, though it will be nice to not have to risk my life biking to campus.