Ok, here is my much needed final blog post of my london experience.

The volcano forced me into a fabulous 6 day london vacation where the weather was incredible and we were able to do a few more things we didn't think we'd be able to do. I loved the wax museum. I love Beckham.

The last day I was in London I experienced the final part of london city life when my purse got stolen right beneath my eyes--literally. I was upset for about an hour then realized that I had bigger things to focus on and that an expensive bag along with money and other essential things like a drivers license and credit cards really didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. I still love london.

I was so happy to be home once I pulled into my driveway and saw this:

There is nothing I like better than home, especially one that I have lived in for the past 13 years of my life. Some things I have realized about myself while I was in london are...
I have learned to be highly productive amidst many distractions. I have a good sense of direction and can survive without a cell phone. I am very independent- i've always known this but I never thought that I would enjoy walking down Regent Street by myself. I am level headed (for the most part). I am a leader--when i need to be. And I love taking initiative. I also learned that apparently I can survive 4 months worth of huge carb loaded dinners without needing to change sizes. I found these pants in my closet from my freshman year of high school--they still fit. (now, muscle tone is my issue. I do NOT want tube arms--as Chris called them.)

Anyway, cheers for now! I may post randomly throughout the year if I have something interesting to say.
London will always be my second home.

I am posting this from my spring and summer home (the third home)

Hot Potato

Last night on our way home, Alyssa, Rachel and I played hot potato with some strangers on the tube for three stops. Enough said. Most entertaining tube ride of my life.

I miss pole vault

Today during the Holland Tulip Festival in Trafalgar square there were about 10 pole vaulters doing their business.

Here is why I miss vaulting in no particular order:
1. I Like having something I am uniquely good at

2. I miss having muscle tone

3. I don't have anything I do that has a hint of danger in it. Pole vault is dangerous when you don't know what you're doing--but there is always an element of surprise with every jump.
4. I miss the rhythm counting down from 14 steps.

5. It is one of the most fun things to do and is based solely on your strength and speed--no engines, no artificial thrills. Its all real.
6. I miss the atmosphere of track meets, high stress but also excitement when you clear a new height.
7. Teams.
8. Random injuries hurt, but the reason why you get them is because you do freakin awesome random things, like trampoline workouts.
9. Pole-Vault camp. As nerdy as it sounds, it is so fun.

After watching these vaulters for about an hour and a half I have a new goal this summer to get back in to pole-vault shape. I know it is likely that I will never vault again, and I won't try to walk back on to the BYU team, but I want to be able to jump if the situation ever arises. I hope my shoulder doesn't give out. Wish me luck.

not my last day

So, I thought today was going to be my last day in London. As a result, I decided to avoid the tube and walk wherever my feet took me with a few of my friends. The morning took a late start when we all found out that flights were being cancelled and we all had to find alternate travel plans for the upcoming week(s). While carrying around my ipod during the day to periodically check the heathrow airport status we first stopped at Nandos.
This place is great for clearing out sinuses--exactly what i needed. Especially the hot sauce.

Then we walked around for the next 4 hours doing whatever we wanted. We walked through Trafalgar Square, Piccidilly Circus, Regent Street and Covent Garden. While in Covent Garden, this street performer was singing some opera and everyone was watching him. He targetted me, anna and Leslie in the crowd, ran up to us, grabbed our hands and started kissing them. I don't think I will ever forget the feeling of his gray beard and slobbery lips on the back of my hand. Nasty. We stopped at the National Geographic store and sat in these rock cushions for a while... then anna lost her tube pass for good.

leslie don't kill me.
We went to tortilla for dinner and then the LONDON EYEball. This would have been the perfect ending to a perfect semester--had it really been the ending. Seeing the city at dusk was beautiful, and it was awesome to see the entire city skyline.



Here is the end of the story today:
I have suctioned away the air with my space saving bags and have packed everything away in suitcases. I have done this way too soon, so I will be wearing strange mismatching outfits for the next few days until this volcano stops blowing up. Until then, I will enjoy all the time I have with my favorite city. Monday is my expected departure date given that the air will clear up.

On that note... summer I am glad you have come. See Anna's blog, she explains it well. Mainly, I am ready to be outside in shorts and not ashamed about my pasty skin. I won't post a pale comparison picture, because i'm sure you've had enough of them already. Vail summer 09.

finals are over!

I'VE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER! I AM DONE WITH THE WORST FINALS OF MY LIFE. Now I have 2 days in london to do whatever I want.
More to come.

sick of sick

I am sick of being sick. Today, I hated waking up in the morning with a dry mouth because my nose was plugged during the night. I was also disgusted by all of the tissues- some used, some not used that I have been finding in my bed throughout the day. I am sorry if I'm grossing you out, but I am sure you know the feeling.

The good news is that my medication keeps my nausea away. The bad news is that I have 5 finals within the next two days, and studying when you are on 9 pills per day is especially hard. I've been mixing some drowsy and loopy with 24/7 studying. Its a blast. According to Dr. Dreamy I should be in tip top shape by tomorrow--which would be a miracle.

This is how i feel.

Cannibalism

Sometimes, people tell me that I look like an ostrich. And no, I am not offended by this.


Yesterday, I ate one of my own kind. I had to choose between Ostrich and Kangaroo. I couldn't get myself to eat a kangaroo so I decided to resort to cannibalism. After feeling guilty for .02 seconds I ate my Ostrich burger with MUCH enthusiasm. I loved it, and I hate hamburgers.
For future London goers--borough market is a prime spot for good cheap lunch food. Go thursday or friday to avoid massive crowds.

Prime Meridian

Friday we took a boat tour starting at Westminster Pier and ending in Greenwich. I didn't wear a jacket and I hope I won't need one for the rest of this week. I had a certain song stuck in my head reminding me that "i'm on a boat" for the whole 45 minutes and I really wish I had my flippy floppies. We got off the boat and booked it to the prime meridian. I have mixed feelings about saying that this is my first time being two places at once. Because if you think about it, i have been in two places at once every time I cross a border. I have been both inside and outside of a room, inside and outside a car, in New York and Connecticut... you get where I'm going with this. Well I can say that this is the first time I went out of my way to be in two places at once. Here are some photos as proof.



At the end of our Greenwich outing I stopped to take this picture. This is where I live. I will miss seeing this street.

Listen

I've been listening to Band of Horses while I study for finals. They're amazing. Oh, and I am going to their concert on monday night!!!!!! Tyler Ramsey opens for them. double treat. Check both of them out.

this stuff happened this week

I am in a little bit of a predicament, because I have realized that after this week, my life is going to become increasingly boring. On the other hand, at this point in the semester, I feel like nothing I do is interesting, although most people think it probably is.

On monday I read the Iliad in Hyde Park and went to the play "39 Steps" which makes fun of Alfred Hitchcock's films. This four cast member play was pretty funny and I loved seeing references to Psycho, Vertigo and North by Northwest.

These are some birds I found in St. James Park. It took me a few minutes to get a good shot of them, but they wouldn't stop eating. I gave up.

Tuesday, we went as a group to the London LDS Temple and it was such a great and relaxing day.
Wednesday we took a tour of the houses of parliament and the cabinet war rooms along with the Winston Churchill museum. I had a brilliant Idea to wear a skirt because it has been getting warmer and I froze the entire day. I came back, did some homework then went out with a friend in Canary Wharf.

Outside of parliament. I couldn't take pictures inside, sorry!

This was taken at about 1:30 Wednesday night. I was so tired, I didn't move for a few hours. UNPRODUCTIVE.

Thursday I found out that I had two more write ups to do for a religion class. This puts the grand total of writing up to 14 pages of writing for a two credit class. I shouldn't complain but It would have been a lot easier to write all of those papers had I started at the beginning of the semester. Tonight, I am going to Legally Blonde the Musical.

Blogging about the week... Check!

Excessive List Making

Okay, so this week I have been strangely productive and extremely motivated. Don't get me wrong--I'm normally motivated and productive for the most part, but this week I have taken up my pastime of list making which as made my productivity level sky rocket.
Here is an example of my 1st thru 8th grade list extremity:

7:30am wake up
7:31am put my contacts in
7:33am get in the shower
7:43am get dressed
7:50am do my hair
7:55am eat breakfast
8:05am brush teeth
8:10am put backpack and coat on
8:15am go to school

This gives you a little snapshot of my childhood craziness. Of course, I have abandoned this for the most part over the past 7 years. but I've picked it back up this week. Something about crossing things off a list makes me incredibly happy. So as I was on the bus the other day I made a small booklet full of lists: Homework, Studying methods to start, ruined clothing, last places I want to go, souvenirs I need to buy, first things I want to do when I am home, people I need to talk to when I am back in the states. Here is a picture of my pile of lists. It is out of control. (and yes I did include the London Center sorting hat list from earlier in the semester into this pile)



To sum up this post, lists can sometimes become an unhealthy obsession. But for me, list making in moderation at this time in my study abroad experience is necessary so that I will be able to do everything I need to do.

+ 24 Hours in a Coach

All last week I was in northern england scattered around various cities and tourist sites...so many that I have a really hard time remembering exactly where I've been. For the purpose of getting highlights down for this blog post I'll reference pictures because I think pictures are the best way of retaining memory. I have left out some minor visits to places like the Bronte Parsonage, Yorkminster and Wordsworth's house just because you probably would skim over it anyway.

Chatsworth House or "Pemberley Court"-- from the new pride and prejudice movie
--Incredibly rainy day. I resisted the urge to buy an umbrella. After realizing I left my wallet in London it was really easy to not buy things. Maybe I'll leave my wallet home more often because I HATE asking to borrow anything.


York- cool city, narrow streets. Still rainy. Best fish and chips at a pub down the street from our hotel.
Fountains Abbey.

(I should have made this picture smaller. This was day 2 of the trip- note the crazy level. There is a reason that I didn't take pictures of myself this trip.)

Durham Castle- We stayed the night at this castle--usually used for student housing (University College). This place was haunted and to make it worse, I think i have a sixth sense. I kept picturing some person hanging from the bars at the top of our tower's skylight. To top that off, I was washing my hair alone in my own little section of the castle when the bathroom door opened and slammed shut. There was nobody around. Nobody else heard the door except me. Am I crazy? When we woke up we went to the great hall for breakfast. I wish harry potter had come to join me like he said he would. At least Dobby prepared my food.

Hadrian's wall. This place is great. This particular morning was both snowy and rainy... I was prepared with some sweet boots, but many people had uggs or flats or heels that couldn't brave the icy hill that Hadrian's wall lies atop. I think we were about 50/50 with falls, lots of people had to change their clothes early in the morning and weren't too happy about it. I wasn't one of them so I found it a little bit funny. I revise that statement, a LOT bit funny. But I think for everyone who did fall, they will look back on it and laugh too. Hopefully.

The Lake District. This place looks like New Hampshire, but better. Lots of hills, mountains, trees, lakes and fields with some sheep. This is one of the top ten most beautiful places I have been in my life. We took a hike to Beatrix Potter's house because our coach driver refused to drive up a country road with his precious bus. He would have been able to make it. This was a blessing in disguise because it was a beautiful day and we got up close and personal with the countryside. AND It is lambing season--I was able to see sheepdogs herding the flocks and lambs trying to walk after being born a few days before.




Preston church history walk. This was not a typical tourist town so we all got strange looks.

Liverpool- Walked down the docks, learned about immigration and slave trade. Walked through the Beatles museum while listening to the 1 Album on my Ipod throughout the entire day.
Something cool I saw at the museum was a quote by Paul McCartney saying, "There are only four people who knew what the Beatles were about anyway." The Beatles were much more than crazed fans and musical success. Unfortunately I am not one of the four.


We got on the bus at around 2pm and drove back to London on the coach bus. I got home at 7:30 and went on a brisk run to the Lancaster Gate tube stop, came back and did a circuit work out with Laura. She told me that over the summer she is a personal trainer for the fat kids in her neighborhood. I'll have to sign up after easter. Thanks family for the easter package. And thank you london center for providing an endless supply of cadbury eggs and lindt chocolate.