the green acres of cambridge

it has now been 4 days since we landed in great britain. upon landing at heathrow airport, one notices how new everything feels in london. the train taking you to different parts of the airport is new (with a star trek-like wheelchair accessible door), the shops are new, even the buses taking you to various parts of england (including the newly updated gatwick airport) are mostly new. now, not everything is new in london. it's just that they like to flaunt the newness. this is in stark contrast to cambridge. in cambridge, everything is old, and they like it that way.

first, let me introduce the crew. you have dr. dan wallace, professor of new testament greek, the director of the center for new testament studies (csntm), and my father. next, is dr. jeff hargis, full time member of csntm for this year, who taught world religions and received his doctorate in patristics. then we had jeff miller, senior pastor of trinity bible church in richardson, texas. last, of course is me, the filmmaker who is completely unqualified for looking at any of the manuscripts we work on this year.

sunday, we went to church at this fairly young (meaning it was built within the last 200 years) building that has been rigged with modern protestant church-going fare. it felt a little weird worshipping from an acoustic guitar and a video projector in a building that survived the blitzkrieg, but it was still nice. after church, we took a five hour tour of downtown cambridge. king's college is pictured above. as you can see, there is a lush field of green there, and at every college. however, only fellows (the highest professors) are allowed to walk on the grass.

every college, whether christian today or not, has a chapel. it seems history is more important than religiosity. but as you walk around, you can't help but see the history. there's a pub, the eagle, where francis crick and james watson announced they had discovered the structure for dna. this was in 1953. fifty years of prestigious activity is not bad, but there's evidence that suggests the pub has been there since the 1300s. to this day, the pub's outside lounging area closes at 10:30pm so the adjoining corpus christi college students can get some sleep.

the history of every building is amazing here. what's more, the atmosphere of cambridge is incredible, including morning and afternoon tea/coffee. no crumpets though. and i have yet to hear someone use the term "brilliant" as a common compliment. but french fries are chips, chips are crisps, and elevators are go up boxes.

lastly, i shall reveal my humble abode. we four share the top two flats. and yes, those are pink sheets.