An Interesting Week

This week I attended a concert, took a tour of Greenwich, and had dinner with a Czech friend with interesting stories to tell. It was a week with a touch of entertainment, education, history, and international intrigue.

Concert

The concert was performed by pupils from the Yehudi Menuhin School which is an international school for musically gifted kids. I discovered the concert when a group of pupils from the school played at the Christmas luncheon for my American Women's group. These kids are amazing.

We were treated to piano, cello, and violin performances by the following students:

• A 19 year-old from Azerbaijan
• A 13 year-old from South Korea
• A 15 year-old from United Kingdom
• An 18 year-old from Taiwan

The 15 year-old performed her entire piece on the piano with only her left hand.

Can you imagine sending your young teenager to a school halfway around the world? These talented kids are awe-inspiring.

Greenwich

My English Experience group took a day trip to Greenwich, located on the east side of London. We stood on the Prime Meridian of the world, at Longitude Zero degrees, one foot in the Eastern Hemisphere, and one foot in the Western Hemisphere. This is the home of "Greenwich Mean Time". 

Harrison's first sea clock

At the Royal Observatory we saw the historical clocks made by John Harrison that were the first to keep accurate time on a rolling ship, enabling more precise navigation. Having read the book, Longitude, that told the story of the clocks, it was exciting to see them in person. These clocks still work over 200 years later.

The sea clocks evolved into this sea watch

We saw the Greenwich Time Ball that has risen and fallen at 1 pm every day for 180 years so that ships on the nearby Thames river can set their clocks.

Greenwich Time Ball

Our guide took us through a residential area of Greenwich and pointed out a house with a decorative transom window above the door. He told us that long ago, before people were literate, the design of the transom window was used like an address. People could locate a particular house by matching the window to a drawing.

Example of a decorative transom window

Czechoslovakia Refugee

Finally, dinner on the 8th floor of the Oxo Tower on the banks of the Thames River, with a stunning view of the nighttime skyline of London. 

Oxo Tower Brasserie

Our dinner companions were a work friend of Chris's and his wife. Irena was born in Czechoslovakia but left with her family when she was 10 years old in 1968 before the Communists took over. She grew up in London and became an attorney. Her parents were blacklisted for leaving the country. They were prosecuted in absentia and given a jail sentence if they were to ever return. Irena is so grateful to England for taking her family in.

When the Czech borders were opened in 1990, the country was anxious to have skilled professionals come back and rebuild the country and its economy. Similarly, the exiled people were anxious to return to their country and to their families left behind. Irena took a job in Prague for three years but was ready to return to the country she grew up in, England.

My great grandparents came to America from Czechoslovakia so I feel a connection to Irena. 

I was happy to have the opportunities this week to broaden my horizons during my time abroad.