Catching up

it has obviously been too long since i last posted some pictures so now i am just going to list events and post a few pictures ...


first day with tube pass (06/26/2010)

our professors gave us a like scavenger hunt around the city so that we could get to know the TUBE system better 

 stop 1:  Changing of the Guards 

So obviously i did not have a very good view... but it was  still cool and at least now i can say that i have "seen" the changing of the guards 


stop 2: harrods shopping area 

so i didn't shop but the buildings were cool...

stop 3 : trafalgar square/national gallery 

this was the end to the scavenger hunt and the best stop!  
    the national gallery is beautiful i foresee that i will be spending large amounts of time there 


next up: i went home and took a short nap... 


Lizzie and i walked around near our house looking for a "safe" pub to go and watch the US Ghana "football" game.
Photos taken while wondering around looking 
for a pub  

 mission accomplished not too far away we found a good pub and went in to take a seat 

we walked in and started to watch the game (i was pretty much freaking out because there were a bunch of huge black guys there watching us) so they invited us to sit down and apprehensively we agreed (their table was right in front of the big screen and they seemed nice so we just sat down with them) they explained to us that they were ghana fans (oh great we are sitting with a bunch of BIG ghana fans who are drinking... and i am some little scrawny girl) we got to know them better and they were extremely nice they offered to buy us drinks and when we told them that we don't drink they immediately asked us if we were mormons (shocked and surprised i had no idea that they even knew what the term "mormon" meant) we told them that we were and they were super excited because we were the first mormons they had ever met  we set a couple false rumors straight and then the rest of the night they were watching out for us  One of the guys named ben was super nice and made sure that no one tried to buy us an alcoholic drink etc. because he was fairly familiar with our religion 

to make a long story short... ok shorter the us LOST and it was crazy there they were so excited! but they were extremely nice and it was a great experience 

LESSON LEARNED : be safe, have fun, try new things, and step SLIGHTLY out of comfort zone, BUT if you feel uncomfortable LEave 

Luckily i felt comfortable and was with good people  

What the ... it is still day one?

So basically here is how the story goes. 
      DAY ONE 
stars early with the classic whole family at the airport scene
flight  = uncomfortable 3.5 hour flight from cali to texas
    So about two hours and four cups of ginger ale into the flight i knew that i had to take a trip to the nasty airline bathrooms... the only problem was the older couple blocking me in. i cursed them because at that moment in time i was not quite feeling assertive enough to ask them to stand up so that i could get out so i was regretting that i was sitting by the window, a point that i was excited about two  hours earlier.  after waiting another hour we began our initial dive into texas and i finally had enough courage to kindly ask them to move.  after feeling much relieved i sat down and looked out at the surprisingly beautiful green land of texas 
time spent in texas 
 finally after much walking i arrived at the correct gate and while waiting for the other girls in my group to arrive i started to hear BRITISH accents !!!!! almost there...NOT 
9 hours in the middle seat of a huge airplane 
  the girl sitting to my right was coughing up a lung and sprawled out all over my seat, but lauren and i made it through with some sleep 
   NOW for the exciting part 
landing in london and getting to the london centre 
  our cab driver was sooo funny and the cab ride although a little bit wild was a blast!  we discussed football (aka soccer) and he gave us tips for how we could blend in and get to all the best parts of london. he also SAVED my wallet  

yup first day here and i left my wallet in the taxi 

after much stress and a few phone calls 

my precious wallet full of cash and credit cards was located 

Thanks to our honest cab driver 

As the day continues on forever and ever i keep thinking when is it time to go to bed...

 But before i went to bed this is what i did...

set up my room

     

I stepped out of my flat

and walked to the store

you don't often see this many scooters in the US

saw some funky things in the store 

SIDE NOTE: to the store i went there in search of tomorrow, now today's, breakfast i couldn't find the oatmeal so i asked one of the store workers 

"hey do you guys have some oatmeal?"

"oatmeal?"

"yeah you know like the stuff you heat up in the microwave?"

"??" 

"ok you know you put it in a bowl and then you heat it up with some water and eat it for breakfast?" (DUH?)

"you mean like porridge?"

"uh sure where is the porridge?"

i never thought the day would come where i would have to describe oatmeal to someone so when he didn't know what i was talking about i had no idea how to describe it... i was at a loss for words 

but afterward we all laughed about it 

and took an evening stroll through hyde park...

More to come on next post... aka ran out of time for now

will post walk pictures later 

evening stroll in the park

 H Y D E   P A R K 

cute swans swimming in dirty pond 

first glimpse of the "enchanted castle" 

THE ENCHANTED CASTLE

this building was gorgeous i can imagine people from jane austen time living here

 
 the clouds looked amazingly cool and the bushes well they were...

splendedly shaped bushes 

hyde park was awesome and after the walk we headed home to help serve dinner because i was on the dinner and then  i was on the dinner then i went to BED 

Crunch Time

11 Days until I leave for the spectacular city of LONDON 

          Living in LONDON for 7 weeks  this will be one of the best experiences of my life

I am so excited to have  have the opportunity to travel to Europe

Living across the street from Hyde Park

Going to school taking 3 classes

1. Jane Austin in context 
2. The Bible and Christianity in British culture and Art
3. British Monuments 

During my two months there I will spend 7 days in France

and 7 days in Northern England

In 5 days My family and i will be traveling to California where we will be staying until I leave for LONDON

HOWEVER There is so much to do and this being the first time that I have ever lived away from home I am slightly apprehensive...

I would LOVE suggestions of places to visit if there is anyone reading that has suggestions 

Here starts the count down until I leave on my Adventure 

post grad

Senior trip: Highlights

friends
watching arrested development 
food 
minni golf
go carts 
swimming  
chocos
shopping
prince of persia 
staying up late  
NO SCHOOL 

10 girls 2 cars and 5 hours later 4 days in beautiful St. George 

13 days worth of music, dancing, sunscreen, hiking, movies, games, 

food, relaxing, sun, swimming, Does life get any better than this? At the close of this point

in my life i realize that time goes by too fast 

Lesson learned: have a positive outlook and enjoy every day