Well Mattyboy wanted to see shots of my new room, so I figured I'd oblige...
It's hard to understand a 3D space using only 2D pictures, but I've done my best...first you should check out the floorplan.
All right, so going counter-clockwise (or 'anti-clockwise' as they say over here) along the floorplan, starting with the doorway, which is currently storing my shoes, empties, 'rubbish bin' and excess supplies (kleenex, apple juice, etc.)
Next is my bed and related wall. I bought that world map for £3! It helps me keep focussed on my dreams.
Onwards we have my dresser adorned above with a map of Venice (because I love that place so much!), followed by the makeshift closet which does a fine job. Now we come to the table by the window (directly across the room from my bed) which sports a lovely lava lamp and Posable Pink Panther which the previous tenant left for me to use! (I should also point out that all the furniture in here belongs to him too...it was quite nice of him to leave it and let me use it all!)
Moving on we have the bookcase and my desk; finishing with the wall behind my desk, upon which hangs my autographed Hayden poster and pictures of all of you lovely folks! If you want, take one more look at the floorplan to get a better overall idea of my room.
Lastly, I have taken a picture of my window from the outside, where I have tried spread a little Canadian culture to passers-by...
Still no word on a job, but I'll let ya know as soon as something starts. I would like to post more about the new church/christian community that I've been attending, but I'll save that for another post.
God bless all!
Monday, January 31, 2005
Sunday, January 30, 2005
More updates on the way...
Well, after being in Oxford for a week and a half, I finally finished unpacking and sorting my stuff out. I was going to take pictures and put them up here, but the lighting in my room isn't great so I decided to wait until tomorrow morning (or more likely, afternoon) to get some natural light to help liven the place up.
In the mean time, check out this link. It's a really good interview with a guy on the Daily Show.... it's kinda big, so it might be a little choppy the first time you watch it. If this is the case, I recommend waiting for it to play through once (in all its choppiness) so that the clip is fully downloaded. Then, when it reaches the end you can play it through from the beginning again in all its smoothness. It's really worth it...just let it take the 5 or 10 minutes or whatever and leave the room and go do something else, and by the time you remember it, it'll be ready to go!
All right, I really gotta get to sleep...my sleep patterns are all messed up again (or right back to normal, depending on how you look at it)
In the mean time, check out this link. It's a really good interview with a guy on the Daily Show.... it's kinda big, so it might be a little choppy the first time you watch it. If this is the case, I recommend waiting for it to play through once (in all its choppiness) so that the clip is fully downloaded. Then, when it reaches the end you can play it through from the beginning again in all its smoothness. It's really worth it...just let it take the 5 or 10 minutes or whatever and leave the room and go do something else, and by the time you remember it, it'll be ready to go!
All right, I really gotta get to sleep...my sleep patterns are all messed up again (or right back to normal, depending on how you look at it)
Sunday, January 23, 2005
I Have a Dream...
Calling all intrepid travellers! I have a dream, and I am inviting you along for the ride! My dream looks like this:
That's right...I want to get from England to Australia via every transporation method EXCEPT flying...that means trains, buses, ferries and whatever else is necessary! Anything except an airplane!
Crazy? Perhaps, however this is largely possible due to the Trans-Siberian Railway - interested prospective companions should check out that link for TONS more information.
Now, as you can see, my desired journey is a little bit different than the one on the map. I'd like to start with a ferry from England to Scandinavia, then using trains and more ferries, eventually arriving at Helsinki, where the train goes to St. Petersburg, which leads to Moscow and the beginning of the Trans-Siberian railway.
Now, as for funds...well, it would definitely be expensive, although maybe not as expensive as you think. I've done some preliminary research, and the cost for the train is relatively cheap. Here's my rough estimate for TRAVEL costs alone, as well as links to my sources, when available (prices are in US dollars, as that's what most sites tended to quote in):
England -> Sweden (ferry): $35
Train across Sweden: $50
Stockholm -> Helsinki (ferry): $160
Helsinki -> St. Petersburg (train): $122
St. Petersburg -> Moscow (train): $66
Moscow -> Irkutsk (trans-sib): $272
Irkutsk -> Vladivostok (trans-sib): $100
Vladivostok -> Fushiki (ferry): $200
7 Day Japan Rail pass: $275
Osaka -> Shanghai (ferry): $200
Shanghai -> Hong Kong (train): $165
All right, I'm tired of looking things up...in theory the trip goes from Hong Kong into Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand/Laos/Malaysia/Indonesia/Australia/New Zealand and then flying back to Canada.
Ok, so just adding up those numbers, it comes to $1645 US dollars. Now, I may be naive, but I'm not stupid. I recognize that doesn't include all the extra costs like food and visa entry fees and hostels and sightseeing fees and all that. So likely, this trip would cost two or even three times that much. I also know that a flight home from New Zealand (or Australia or China or Japan) won't be cheap either. HOWEVER! Considering that a return airline ticket to Asia from Canada is about the same price ($1645 USD or more), it's not that bad a deal! A lot of nights would be spent on trains or ferries, so a lot of lodging is actually included in that original figure, something you can't do if you just fly directly. Plus, this way you get to say that you took the full trans-siberian express, and saw stuff along the way! How friggin' cool is that?!?!
The beautiful part about this trip is that it is SO huge that it could be customized according to available time and funds...can't afford to go to Japan? Fine! Take the trans-siberian to Beijing instead! Got some extra time & cash? Spend more at the beginning in Denmark/Sweden/Finland. Got nothing better to do? Spend a few weeks on the beach in Laos! Of course, all of this would have to be planned ahead of time, but it can be customized when the time comes...
Speaking of which, this may not happen soon...in fact, it likely won't be the next trip I take, but mark my words, it WILL happen! This is going to literally be the adventure of my lifetime, and I'm going to do it! I invite anyone (whom I know, that is) to come along! And even if no one else hops on board, I'll go it alone! This is too good to pass up! I've already taken the first step in crossing the Atlantic ocean...now I just have to make it across the land mass before me to get to the Pacific. I'd even be happy just taking the trans-siberian to Beijing...(then again, if you've gone all the way to beijing, you might as well take the ferry to japan...or the train to bangkok...or, or, or.....)
Well, that's enough dreaming from me. I'm going to go curl up in bed with my copy of Lonely Planet's Guide to the Trans-Siberian Railway that I bought downtown today. Some may think I'm foolish for spending £13 on a book when I don't even have a job yet, but believe me, it will provide all the incentive I need when I go out to look for work tomorrow. (If I could just save £200 each month for the rest of the time I'm hear, I'd have almost £4000 by the time I was ready to leave....)
Take care all...and don't forget to e-mail me to tell me that you're coming along ;)
That's right...I want to get from England to Australia via every transporation method EXCEPT flying...that means trains, buses, ferries and whatever else is necessary! Anything except an airplane!
Crazy? Perhaps, however this is largely possible due to the Trans-Siberian Railway - interested prospective companions should check out that link for TONS more information.
Now, as you can see, my desired journey is a little bit different than the one on the map. I'd like to start with a ferry from England to Scandinavia, then using trains and more ferries, eventually arriving at Helsinki, where the train goes to St. Petersburg, which leads to Moscow and the beginning of the Trans-Siberian railway.
Now, as for funds...well, it would definitely be expensive, although maybe not as expensive as you think. I've done some preliminary research, and the cost for the train is relatively cheap. Here's my rough estimate for TRAVEL costs alone, as well as links to my sources, when available (prices are in US dollars, as that's what most sites tended to quote in):
England -> Sweden (ferry): $35
Train across Sweden: $50
Stockholm -> Helsinki (ferry): $160
Helsinki -> St. Petersburg (train): $122
St. Petersburg -> Moscow (train): $66
Moscow -> Irkutsk (trans-sib): $272
Irkutsk -> Vladivostok (trans-sib): $100
Vladivostok -> Fushiki (ferry): $200
7 Day Japan Rail pass: $275
Osaka -> Shanghai (ferry): $200
Shanghai -> Hong Kong (train): $165
All right, I'm tired of looking things up...in theory the trip goes from Hong Kong into Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand/Laos/Malaysia/Indonesia/Australia/New Zealand and then flying back to Canada.
Ok, so just adding up those numbers, it comes to $1645 US dollars. Now, I may be naive, but I'm not stupid. I recognize that doesn't include all the extra costs like food and visa entry fees and hostels and sightseeing fees and all that. So likely, this trip would cost two or even three times that much. I also know that a flight home from New Zealand (or Australia or China or Japan) won't be cheap either. HOWEVER! Considering that a return airline ticket to Asia from Canada is about the same price ($1645 USD or more), it's not that bad a deal! A lot of nights would be spent on trains or ferries, so a lot of lodging is actually included in that original figure, something you can't do if you just fly directly. Plus, this way you get to say that you took the full trans-siberian express, and saw stuff along the way! How friggin' cool is that?!?!
The beautiful part about this trip is that it is SO huge that it could be customized according to available time and funds...can't afford to go to Japan? Fine! Take the trans-siberian to Beijing instead! Got some extra time & cash? Spend more at the beginning in Denmark/Sweden/Finland. Got nothing better to do? Spend a few weeks on the beach in Laos! Of course, all of this would have to be planned ahead of time, but it can be customized when the time comes...
Speaking of which, this may not happen soon...in fact, it likely won't be the next trip I take, but mark my words, it WILL happen! This is going to literally be the adventure of my lifetime, and I'm going to do it! I invite anyone (whom I know, that is) to come along! And even if no one else hops on board, I'll go it alone! This is too good to pass up! I've already taken the first step in crossing the Atlantic ocean...now I just have to make it across the land mass before me to get to the Pacific. I'd even be happy just taking the trans-siberian to Beijing...(then again, if you've gone all the way to beijing, you might as well take the ferry to japan...or the train to bangkok...or, or, or.....)
Well, that's enough dreaming from me. I'm going to go curl up in bed with my copy of Lonely Planet's Guide to the Trans-Siberian Railway that I bought downtown today. Some may think I'm foolish for spending £13 on a book when I don't even have a job yet, but believe me, it will provide all the incentive I need when I go out to look for work tomorrow. (If I could just save £200 each month for the rest of the time I'm hear, I'd have almost £4000 by the time I was ready to leave....)
Take care all...and don't forget to e-mail me to tell me that you're coming along ;)
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Chris Langston: 2004 Year in Review
Well, 2004 ended up treating me pretty well...to begin with, a list of famous cities I saw for the first time in my life in 2004:
- Miami, USA
- New York City, USA
- Philadelphia, USA
- Washington (DC), USA
- Baltimore, USA
- London, UK
- Brighton, UK
- Cambridge, UK
- Oxford, UK
- Tarifa, the southern most city in Spain
- Rome, Italy
- Florence, Italy
- Venice, Italy (well, technically I visited these last 2 in the first four days of 2005, but let’s keep that tidbit of information between you and me)
- I also got a chance to pop into Montreal on the way back from our February reading week holiday in Quebec, and while it wasn't my first time there by any means, I do love that city…
Not a bad list, if I do say so myself. My challenge for 2005 is to visit 20 world famous cities ;)
In 2004 I also had the chance to meet & speak with two of my living heroes! First, when my mom and I were in Philadelphia this summer, we took a trip to The Simple Way (www.thesimpleway.org) who are a radical Christian group living in the in the inner city. It was founded by several people, including Shane, who is probably the most vocal of the group. He wrote up a description of The Simple Way in an old issue of adbusters and I’ve been following them ever since. When we showed up there this summer, they had a group of teenagers from California about to arrive, but we got a chance to talk with them for about 30 minutes before they showed up. It was great!
My second hero is Brian McLaren, who has written a bunch of books on how Christians must adapt to continue to not only exist, but thrive in a postmodern culture. I got to go to one day of the Emergent UK conference in London in early December and saw him speak. Afterwards I went up to him and let him know how much I appreciate his work and got him to draw a picture in the front cover of my copy of A Generous Orthodoxy! After the conference officially finished at 4pm, Brian invited all the foreign nationals (ie: non-UK citizens) to meet in the backroom and discuss what God was doing in their own countries. We sat and listened to each other for 75 minutes or so and it was absolutely incredible. I will never forget that moment in my life.
Well, I’m currently sitting on a bus heading toward my destiny. Or to be less dramatic, my destination. Which happens to be Oxford. My plan for 2005 is basically just to work in the UK and then travel with the money I’ve saved, then when I run out of money, come back and work some more. That’s actually also my plan for 2006 at the moment, but these conditions are subject to change without notice.
I’m currently paying for a room in a student house with 3 other guys until July. It will be nice to be in one place for a while, especially since I haven’t lived in any single place for more than a month in the last 5 months…and in fact, the last 6 weeks have witnessed me changing locations almost weekly. Then again, I also shouldn’t count my chickens before they hatch. Or maybe I should say ‘shouldn’t count my roommates before they hatch.’ Or, since that doesn’t make any sense, maybe I should say ‘shouldn’t count ON my roommates before I meet them.’ They have a Pulp Fiction poster hanging above the couch in the living room though, and an XBOX attached to the TV, so it can’t be all bad…
Well that’s it for now…keep an eye here for further information and updates. And please feel free to try out the comment system – I want to know that it works!
Cheers to 2005….
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