Weekend in Woking: Host Families and Windsor Castle

On Friday afternoon we went off to Woking, a town outside London, to spend the weekend with British host families. Two girls and I stayed with a Pakistani woman and her daughter, which didn't surprise me seeing as England has a large growing Muslim population. This made for a very unique experience. When I first learned that our host family was form Pakistan I got really excited because so many of my friends from Sharon are Pakistani, but I was one of the first Jews this Pakistani family had ever met, so the experience was a bit challenging but definitely rewarding. On Friday evening we were all watching TV and there was a show on about the anniversary of 9/11 and all the conspiracy theories that exist, and I honestly never thought I'd be discussing 9/11 and the War on Terror with a Pakistani immigrant who doesn't even live in the US, but thanks to everything I learned from my interfaith youth group back home I was able to have a really meaningful and interesting conversation. We talked a lot about Judaism and Islam, and I loved telling her about the interfaith group in Sharon. We even talked about how sacred Israel is to both of our religions with absolutely no tension.

Me and Hera, my host sister for the weekend

Emily and I with Hera and our host mother, Selena

On Saturday we dropped off our little "host sister" at the mosque for her religious school classes. The mosque the family attends is the oldest mosque in the UK and is absolutely gorgeous, but we drove away before I could get my camera out, so unfortunately no pictures. Then all the students were taken to Windsor where we had the opportunity to tour the Windsor Castle - it was incredible!!!! (The Queen stays there on weekends, but sadly this past weekend she was in Scotland, so she and I did not get to have tea...). Anyways, I was in absolute awe of how old the castle is, and how I was walking the ground of so many characters from my Ap European History class. No photography was allowed which is really a shame because all the rooms were breathtakingly beautiful, and I got to see so much of the artwork I had learned about in school that I would have loved to take pictures of - especially the portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, my favorite English monarch! We also visited St. George's Cathedral where King Henry VIII, King George VI (yes, the one in The King's Speech), among many other monarchs, are buried. It was such a fascinating tour and it definitely reminded me why I was so excited to be a history major!
After Windsor Castle we came back home and our host mother made us afternoon tea and samosas....such a perfect mixture of British and Pakistani cultures. Sunday afternoon, before going back to London, we went shopping at a mall in Woking. A lot of the clothing stores here give student discounts if you show a student ID...so convenient!

Walking up to the castle

Megan, Julia, and I in front of our home, of course..

Queen Elizabeth I, Bloody Mary, Cate Middleton, King George VI,
Anne Boylen, and Sarah Raykhtsaum have all walked these grounds.

St. George's Cathedral...so beautiful!!! Wish I could have taken pics of the inside...

Barbara and I with a very unhappy guard

This morning I woke up thinking how strange it was to not be in the US during the ten year anniversary of 9/11, but instead being in England, discussing it with a Pakistani family who had a member of their family living in Manhattan on the day of the attacks. All those endless hours of interfaith dialogue training definitely helped in making this a very memorable learning experience.
This coming week is our last week of orientation so I'm definitely looking forward to making the most of my last few days here without any homework or responsibilities!
xoxo,
Sarah