Today was a fabulous day! We had cleaning checks so we cleaned this morning. When you're sharing a room with 12 girls it can get rather messy so it felt really good to have a clean room once again! Then we all headed down to Portobello market. The market is open on Saturdays and it goes on for miles and miles down Portobello street. It's not your typical neighborhood farmers market. It is HUGE with tons of vendors, antiques, bakeries, meat packing companies, fruit stands, crape bars, waffle makers, purses, coats, everything you can imagine. We walked for about an hour down the street and we probably covered 1/4 of the whole market. I got a donut and it was amazing! After the market I went to Primark again and got some boots for 6 pounds.

In the afternoon we went to the Orangery, a little cafe in Kensington Gardens right across from Kensington Palace, and we had tea and scones. I'm not a fan of the herbal tea so Hannah and I split a fruit scone and a cheese scone. It was so quaint! It was my first experience having really English tea and scones! For dinner we found some 1.50 fresh pizzas at the market and came back and baked them at home and concluded the night with "Monty Python." It was a fabulous day!

Today was another long day of classes. I had class form 9 -4 and it was so boring! After class I went for a job in Hyde Park. I usually go running in the mornings but today it was quite pleasant in the evening. It was packed with people. The English like to be outside. It was cute, I saw a mom teaching her boy how to rollerblade, old people walking in the park, and I just like to people watch i guess. I ran by the Peter Pan statue again. I dont know why it makes me so happy. Its in a magical part of park. It's secluded and right by the river. Dinner tonight was really good. We had meatloaf, and I hate meatloaf, but this one was pretty good. THEN, we went to Harrods and got an ice cream sunday! The candy shop there was nuts. It's just like disneyland but better. Kristen and I split a banana sundae and it was amazing! We've decided that we're going back every week to try a different sundae. Tomorrow we're planning on going to the London aquarium and seeing the shark exhibit!!! I'm also busy planning for Paris and Scotland. Both are coming up really fast!

Today hasn't been that eventful so far. I went for a jog this morning in Kensington Gardens. It wasn't a pretty day, but it wasn't raining, therefore it was a great morning! I stopped by the river there half way through my jog and just thought, "Wow, i'm running in London!" And I found the Peter Pan statue, the one that we saw down in Laguna. It is really cute! I'm going to have to go back and take a picture right by it. I finished some homework and then I had class from 1 - 4. It was British Lit and we're studying "The Wasteland" By T.S. Eliot. It was really interesting to note all the different streets or cathedrals or places mentioned that I have already been to. Eliot wrote this poem after the end of World War II. He observed the moral and physical decay of British Society and almost prophetically lamented over the crude state that the nation was in. Maybe it was the poem or maybe it was my teacher (Dr. Talbot is a very passionate man and an excellent instructor), but that poem came alive to me. I love when I become moved by words, especially the words of someone not of our faith yet I still feel some sort of spirit by reading their work. He wrote about the inability of people to communicate, the lack of life found, or not found actually, with in each individual, how marriage has become disregarded and children unwanted. How the world is a world so detached from human emotion, and life has become so mechanical that it surly with fall unless we turn to God. The whole poem ultimately comes to that end - we must rely on God if we are to survive in this world.

In another one of Eliot's poems, "The Rock," he said this:
Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

Think about that... Well, off to dinner!

Today was the best day by far since I have been here. We got up this morning really early and we were on the bus by 7:30. Our first stop on our excursion was to Canterbury. It was a quaint little town and it had the most amazing cathedral. The outside was just so ornate and gorgeous, but the inside was more beautiful. The ceilings were extremely vaulted with fluted ornamentations. The stained glass was stunning and every detail of the cathedral - from the walls, to the floor, to the ceiling, to the windows - was decorated. I cant even describe in words how beautiful it was. One of our professors, Dr. Talbot, just has an amazing knowledge of everything and he was like our tourguide. In certain parts of the cathedral there were Medieval wall paintings which were around 13th century. Also in the cathedral was the tomb of King Henry IV, and that was super cool.

We made our way over to a small town of Rye next. On our way over there the countryside was just beautiful. It was just like the movies or how I have always pictured it with rolling lush hillsides with sheep, a small cottage and forests in the distance with a stream. It was gorgeous. The town of Rye was really small but awesome. The main thing to see was a cathedral, grave yard and small fort with some super cool tudor houses. It was so quaint.

Next we made our way over to Beachy Head - the famous white cliffs. The was very picturesque. I feel like none of this is really portraying the beauty or the ecstatic emotions I had when we visited these places but it was one of the best days of my life. The End.

One week down..

It's hard to believe that a week ago I was on a 12 hour trip across the US and Atlantic Ocean only to arrive here in London. I feel like this place has been my home for weeks already. I have done so much already and my time has just begun. School started this week. We meet on the second floor of our flat in a big room. Yesterday I had my British Literature class with Professor Talbot. He is my favorite by far. He is so witty so those 3 hours flew by. We had FHE last night and then we all went to McDonalds. The McFlurries here are a bit different in a good way. They're made with Cadbury chocolate, caramel and kixs. They're really good! Amy and I took a walk in Hyde Park yesterday in Kensington Gardens and saw Kensington Palace where Princess Diana lived when she and Charles were separated. We also so the Albert Memorial. The joke behind the memorial is that Albert didnt want a monument and so his advisors, as a joke, constructed a huge ornate memorial, with him platted in gold with just decorations flowing from the structure. ITs gorgeous.

Today I had class all day. In the morning I had British history and later sociology. Dinner was really good tonight. Our cook lady is so nice and she has to make meals every night for 60 people and she is so awesome! After dinner me, Amy, Jen, Emily and Hannah went shopping and Primark and it was AMAZING!! It's like their equivalent to Forever but 20 times better. THe selection of clothes, shoes, jackets, jeans and everything is unbelievable! I got 4 shirts for 16 pounds! It was by far the best night yet!

Tomorrow we're leaving at 7 to go visit Canterbury and Beachy Head. It should be fun but its been ridiculously rainy the past 3 days so that will make it miserable. But life's good!

First weekend in London

Louis Armstrong had it right when he said "and i think to myself what a wonderful world." Everyday that song has popped into my head as i have been walking around London, looking at sites, observing British culture, meeting strangers and sharing a townhouse with 40 girls.

My weekend started off rather bleak to say the least. On Friday we had to complete 3 walks. When we left our house around 9 it had just started to rain. I brought my umbrella but my shoes were already mopping up the rain by the time we got to the train station. Our first walk was long, but the second even longer. It took us downtown by St. Paul's, by the Tower Bridge and down the Thames River. It would have been cool if it wasnt raining but the wind was horrendous and my body was shivering because of the bitter cold. We stopped by the Globe Theatre and then came home. By that time it was 4 and so I had to hurry and meet Stuart. He and I took a quick stroll down Hyde Park right by my house and then by Kensington Gardens. I think that night we just stayed in and watched "Arrested Development."

As a result of Friday's rainy day excursion, I woke up Saturday morning with a cold and cough. Not fun. I still had 3 walks to complete.The weather yesterday was gorgeous so we all got Starbucks and walked around the Thames again and down the theater district where tons of plays are shown and we walked through Covent Gardens, which is like a Third Street Promenade but 50 times more classy. That's one thing about England, everything/one is so classy and polite. Its amazing. I met up with Stuart again yesterday and we went to Buckingham Palace where the Queen lives. The changing of the guards was earlier that day around 11, so we missed it but it was still ridiculously awesome. Then my friend and I went to H&M, spent some money, and went out to dinner with a group of us. We're starting to know our way around the tube a lot better now so we decided to go down to Leicester Square (the theater district) and found a random little fish n chips restaurant, which actually turned out to be pretty good. After that we just kinda walked around. Shops in London close at 8 everyday, which is really early, so we just came home after that.

Today was the best day of the week. Each of us girls got assigned to a local family ward. Me and 4 other girls were assigned to the Stratford Ward, which was an hour and a half away. We took the underground as far as we could, then we had to hop on a train. Our ward started at ten. When we got to the building the bishop was outside waiting for us. When we got in there were only maybe 10 people in the congregation. As the meeting continued more came in until the chapel was full. The talks were both amazing. They weren't any different than anything that I heard before, but it was great to know that the church is the same no matter where you go. The first speaker was a woman who talked about service. The last speaker was a young man from Ghana. He did a fabulous job and i really felt the spirit. I'd say about 95% of the ward was African. After Sacrament meeting I got up to meet with the Bishop and i turned around and there was Pat Beta!!! Parker kept telling me to look out for him and i thought no way, thats ridiculous. London is HUGE, yet on my first Sunday in the ward that I was called to there he was!! So we chatted for a bit. I get to see him every week until he's transferred. That was really cool. The Bishop assigned me to Primary so I start teaching next week. Today I was in the Nursery since the leader didnt show up. There was only one little boy but he was super cute! There is just such a spirit there. The Holy Ghost just kept re-iterating to me that the church is true. It changes peoples lives, and it especially changed mine today. One our way home we were riding on the tube and a small family got on with 2 children. The Dad was holding the little girl and the mom had a baby in the stroller. The train started to move and a man gave up his seat so the parents could sit down with their children rather than stand. I have noticed that many times. People are so courteous here and extremely polite and mannered. It's witnessing those small acts of kindness that change my life, whether they are given to me or i just observe them, they still warm my heart. It has been a great experience being here so far.

First 2 Days in London!

TADA!! I'm here! These past 48 hours have been unbelievable! I cant believe that I'm actually in England! So the flight over here wasnt that bad. I sat next to some really cool people. The girl to my right was from Holland but was just finishing up a semester in Mexico and the guy on my left was going to grad school in Amsterdam! So they gave me some tips on living in Europe. I arrived at Heathrow around 11 am. I got through customs, baggage claim and the next tricky part was getting myself to the center. Obviously I had never used the tube before so I was a little nervous but I gave it a shot. It was really easy to use, minus the fact that I was carrying around 2 huge suitcases, which are rarely seen on the tube, so I felt like I stuck out majorly as a tourist. When it came to my first stop, I had shuffle all my bags off only to find that I had about 30 stairs to climb. As I started to carry both of my bags up, a man offered to help me and carried them all the way up the stairs. This happened again a second time when i came to my second tube stop. When i bought my tube ticket, an old black man who was behind the counter joked with me in his Jamaican voice that he had been waiting for my arrival all day. When i finally got to my last destination, i climbed out of the subway station only to find myself lost in the city. Not lost really, but i had no sense of direction on where to go. So i stopped a crossing guard and he pulled out his map and pointed me in the right direction. All of this made me realize that British people are awesome!! I got so scared in my prep class with all the talk that Brits had Americans and to not talk to them, but they were so helpful to me.

So i finally arrived at the center around 1:30. I was exhausted but me and some of the girls went out for a walk. We came back for dinner, which was not that delectable, and headed out to Les Mis. The theatre was right in Piccadilly Square and the city looked gorgeous lit up at night! The play was fantastic. "Bring him Home" was fabulous. We were all tired after the play so we hit the sack.

This morning I woke up at 8 and 7 of us girls started on our London Walks again. We have this booklet that contains walks throughout London that we have to complete. We did 2. The first was rather boring, but the second one was just fantastic! We got off the tube station right at the Tower of London. It was huge and an awesome sight to see! We didnt tour it because we're saving that for another day, but it was quite a sight! That walk took us by Big Ben, Parliament, and the London Eye. It was so miraculous to be standing right at the heart of London and seeing all these sights that I have only seen pictures of! It was such an blessed feeling of awe. We came back for dinner, which was good tonight, and then we headed down to the shopping district. The first store we hit- HARRODS!! WOW! Words can not describe that store. It has everything! EVERYTHING!! I thought it was just a huge department store, which it is, but there is so much more! There's a huge chocolate department, meat & cheese department, perfume, bags, mens accessories, shoes, makeup - that doesn't even describe the majestic atmosphere of that store! And yes, i bought something for there and it was the only thing that I could afford - a truffle. And it was delicious. We went to H&M as well and some other European stores, which we are planning to revisit some other time again. Oh, we went to this fabulous market in downtown earlier today to which had some great buys, but dont worry I havent bought anything yet!! After window-shopping we came back and watched "braveheart" and now I'm off to bed!

Oh, and tons of people love Arrested Development, so incase you were worrying about me not fulfilling my daily quotes, i have plenty of people whom I share my insanity with. And I'm already finding that I subconsciously am developing an accent in my head....