Monthly Archive

I thought it was a nice way to spend the first few hours of my flight back to Singapore finishing the other half of my blog on my brief stay in Manchester.  It’s 1:15 in the afternoon in the UK and I hope to be in Singapore in 12 hours or so. 

April 6, Thursday

When I booked my flight almost two months ago, I deliberately extended my stay to take advantage of the chance to go around Manchester and nearby places.  Little did I know that in the same week that I will be out, my two professors were to require me to submit major assignments.  I rushed the other one before I left last week so that today, I would worry only about one thing.  Hence, the entire day saw me through on Nic’s desk which gave me a nice view of people entering the bar next to the apartment.

I was lucky, too, that my computer detected a wireless network around the area.  The internet connection was great and it gave me the chance to keep in touch with the rest of the world.  In fact, I emailed one of my co-ASEAN fellows in Singapore whom I recalled was doing her PhD at the University of Manchester.  We were both pleasantly surprised that we could meet up in far away place.  It was the same emotion I felt when I met Nic a couple of days back.  Apparently, she is also in the same department as Nic, the Institute of Development Policy and Management (IDPM).  We grabbed a bite at her flat and toured the city centre afterwards.  We went to this nightlife area called Gay Village where Jan, a Thai who should be used to transvestites and all, was still mortified by the alluring gays around. 

April 7, Friday

I reserved this day to go up to Lancaster, another city in Northwest England, just an hour away by train from Manchester Oxford Road station.  Some of the pictures I have included in the photo section.  At the conference, I was introduced to Chen Yang, a PhD student at Lancaster University doing research on Christianity in China.  I guess that fact that we were both Asians and were interested in the same research questions made us click together.  So he kindly agreed to tour me around the University, a couple of minutes off the city centre.  Although the University is in a very good position in terms of its social science disciplines (including sociology and religious studies), the place was relatively boring.  Architecture was modern hence, devoted to functionality and nothing more.  But even so, I am compelled in every sense of the word to pursue my PhD here given a chance.  Academic expertise and the small community make the experience warm and conducive to learning.
At noontime, Chen Yang had another appointment and I went back to the city centre where Lancaster Castle was magnificently positioned on the hill overlooking the rest of the populace.  The Castle remains to be a prison under the Crown of England, a function it has adopted since the 14th century.  I was on a tour with other Britons around the Castle’s legal courts where many infamous trials were held.  One of which was the case of the Pendleton Witches who were hanged for being accused as such.  I also had a one-minute experience of being imprisoned in one of the cells home to countless deaths.  Total darkness coupled with the sound of cell gates being closed and locked contributed to a torturous atmosphere.  I couldn’t imagine the agony of many of its medieval prisoners.

Just outside the Castle was the Priory Church where a funeral service was being held.  I decided not to disturb the moment of sorrow.  I confined myself at the backyard, which was really a graveyard home to many of the clergy from the Church’s history.  But some areas had much recent burials.  The tombstone with fresh flowers and toy cars caught my attention.  Unsurprisingly, it was for a young boy.  I could only feel for his parents.

The smallness of the city and its commendable ability to maintain its heritage make the place worth living in.  In fact, I couldn’t resist imagining being warped back to ancient times.  Even McDonald’s and a couple of American influences have managed to immerse well in the city’s over-all landscape.  After grabbing two old sociology books from Oxfam, I decided to call it a day. 

By the way, it was my mom’s birthday today.  Contacting her through the public phones in Lancaster was not only difficult but lavishly expensive.  One pound deposit (about P 100.00) was only worth 10 seconds.  What I thought would be a nice way of greeting her was actually disastrous.  I managed to greet her and that was it.   

April 8, Saturday

There was no way physical exhaustion would stop me from exploring another part of England, the famous Durham City in the Northeast.  And even if it cost me a whopping £ 47.00 ticket, I thought it was worth it anyway.  After all, the city itself is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  It took me about three hours to get to Durham, no thanks to the inconsistent schedules on the booklet and actual arrival and departure of trains.  It was for this reason that I longed for the reliable transport system in Singapore.  My friend, Chang-won Park, a PhD student from Durham University, was patient enough to wait for me at the station.

The skyline was magnificent.  Two important historic sites gave fame to the city: Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle.  Both have been in existence for almost one thousand years now.  Its magnificent (even this word is an understatement, I must say) Norman-Romanesque architecture has brought its name into film history as Hogwarts School of Wizardry.  All Cathedrals in the UK, arguably, bows down to the captivating view and experience of this majestic site.  If Chang and I were not in a hurry, we would have climbed up 365 steps to reach the Cathedral’s peak.  But since it was officially my last day in the UK, I had no choice but to scrap time-consuming activities.  Regrettably, I was more concerned about getting a pair of cufflinks my brother had been nagging me to buy. 

Right across the Cathedral is Durham Castle, now one of the residential colleges of Durham University, which happens to be the third oldest seat of learning in the UK after Oxford and Cambridge.  Its overpowering position on a hill captivated even my soul.  Who would never be inspired to study and contribute to learning if he were to sleep in those halls?  I was convinced that this was my dream university.  If someone were to ask me where I lived, I would have simply said, “in an ancient castle.”      

Like Lancaster, Durham City’s compact structure allows for a certain level of interpersonal warmth and solidarity to be its key qualities.  People were still smiling and greeting one another, something that I never saw in Manchester.  On my way back to Nic’s flat, I recalled Jan’s resentment about the City of Manchester.  For having done her Master’s in Exeter which was considerably like Lancaster and Durham, she had every reason to dislike Manchester’s urban chaos.  Given a chance, I would have chosen Durham over Manchester. 

At night, I met up with Jan once again to have buffet dinner in one of the nice restaurants in Manchester.  Our bill: £ 21.00.  Though expensive, our time together provided a nice closure to my stay in the UK.  We talked about each other’s plans and of course, research interests.   Afterwards, we went to the town hall and had our own share of pictures.  To be honest, it was heartrending to bid each other goodbye in that corner of Oxford Road. 

Closing

Since the conference was over, I have not had any decent sleep, if only to maximize my time meeting friends, going places, and of course, uploading photos to my Friendster account.  As if I was not tired enough after my trip to Durham and the buffet and short walk with Jan, I felt compelled to do other things last night in preparation for my trip home.  After packing up all my stuff, I penned the first serving of this account and caught up with the many emails demanding my attention.  I attempted to sleep at 2 am only to be anxious about one of my student’s long overdue request to write a reference letter for his application to the University of British Columbia.  And at 3 am, rather unworried about the noise I would create, I vacuumed Nic’s flat.  Then it was time for me to shower and dress up for my flight.  To make the long story short, my body is currently in a state of confusion over the misalignment between timezone and my body clock. 
 
The enriching experience at the conference and the short trips around Manchester, Lancaster, and Durham felt like I have accomplished a lot in such a short period of time.  Not to mention that I managed to pull off a paper alongside.  But I guess the most endearing part of my stay in the UK was the fact that I had the privilege of knowing friends – old and new alike – in a far away land.  To me, the beauty of a place will be genuine only when it has become meaningful through the relationships built and nurtured in it.  And so even if I was tired, the trips were all worth it. 

But for the time being, allow me to get some rest.   

It is on a sad note that I am packing my clothes, books, and souvenirs tonight. The sheer wish of going to the UK since I was a child, as my father was a seaman, materialized this week. It is, however, about to end. Although my stay here had been barely a week, such time was enough for me to accomplish many things.  I must say, they were rather efficiently done, if only for friends both old and new that made my brief experience even more worthwhile and insightful. Hoping to etch the memory somewhere more concrete, I recount here my week as it unfolded.

April 2

For having touched down at London Heathrow Airport in transit to Manchester, I have every reason to say that I’ve been to the UK’s imperial capital. Do not ask me for details, however. All I can say is that temperature was near zero in April when spring must be ushering in more heat from the sun. There was a coaster that transferred our cohort to Terminal 4, which I suppose, is dedicated to domestic flights. That was all I could speak of London. And I thought Manchester had better weather. On my way out from the train to meet up my friend, Nic, I lamented wearing only a shirt and my NUS jacket. Mist was coming out of my mouth the moment I said a word. And Nic was there only to laugh at me. What my childhood friends were teasing me about my thick skin is not true, after all. And no, my fat insulators did not do any help at all. Worse, they were all sleeping. And even worse, it was drizzling. Because I was awed by Manchester’s Victorian landscape and I wanted quality time with Nic, I preferred a 30 minute walk from the station to Hulme Hall where I was to stay for the next three days. Talk about masochism in the name of cultural adventure. We had dinner that night at his place, with two friends bringing fried chicken and Mang Tomas. Margaret is Filipino-American and Marchin, Polish. Seeing Nic that day hundreds of miles away from our Ateneo homebase and some years after graduation was not only sociologically interesting (i.e. global movement of students) but also emotionally fulfilling. Nic was kind enough to admit that it was great to see a friendly face after so long. The feeling was mutual (no, this is not Brokeback). I thought that was a very warm welcome. In fact, in the morning after I accompanied Nic on the bus to Manchester Airport (as he was going the US for his brother’s wedding), I was saddened by the idea that I won’t be seeing him in a long time again. (no, really, this is not Brokeback).

April 3 - 5

Ah, the conference’s commencement. The main purpose for coming to Manchester was to present my research paper in this conference on religion. Aside from being accepted into the programme, the privilege was really the result of three entities helping out fund my entire trip: the British Sociological Association, NUS, and of course, my dad. The programme was intimidating. My name was on the list of panelists who were either doing PhD or professors in European universities. I was the only one doing a Master’s degree and from an Asian university at that. But God is good, I must say. I enjoyed every minute of my presentation and was able to address and learn from the questions and comments made by the academic audience. At that time, I did not have any idea that these academics were topnotch in the study of religion, i.e. they got many books all over the place. My seatmate, Abby Day, gave positive remarks to my paper. And I got a very pleasant surprise. She asked if I could contribute my paper to the book she is editing as an output of the conference. How could I say no? But without being lavishly ecstatic about it, a tendency I consciously avoided for impression management’s sake, I replied, "That’s great. But first, give me time to revise and proofread it." Now I must say I am under tremendous pressure. And then there was David Chalcraft, a professor of classical sociology from the University of Derby who asked for a copy of my paper for him to cite in a Weberian research he is doing. I have yet to understand in simpler terms what he intends to do in his writing. After the three of us in the panel on evangelism had presented, Abby introduced me to Lancaster University’s Department of Religious Studies. I had no idea that it was Linda Woodhead, the very author of the book I was reading back in Singapore. Another pleasant surprise. For the next two days, I had the privilege of sharing my interests with her and she even agreed to supervise my PhD work granted that I do it at Lancaster. It was disappointing to know, however, that research grants are extremely limited in her university and it was the situation in many of UK’s leading academic institutions. I immediately decided to email and set an appointment with Bryan Turner, a professor of mine at NUS to see how we can work things out for this. The conference, by and large, was a very enriching experience for me. The academic network of academics in the study of religion was all of a sudden within my reach. Dinner time was always perfect to build networks. Lan Li, a Chinese PhD student from Queen’s University Belfast came to me to talk about my research on new paradigm Christianity. She was very interested in it. In return, she talked about PhD opportunities in her university. she was also very supportive of me doing my PhD work in Belfast. Mind you, I was getting confused by then. In addition, I enjoyed both trivial and academic conversations with Chen Yang and Chang-won Park, PhD students from Lancaster and Durham respectively. They were to tour me around their universities later this week.

—more to come—