Day 43: One More Week

One week from today I will be on American soil!  Is that surprising to anyone besides myself?  I literally feel like I just got here.  In some ways the days have been long here but the whole time has gone very quickly.  I think I am winding down and getting ready to come home.  These are just some of the things I have grown more grateful for/ am excited about at home:

- Family and friends (always first)

- Cafe Rio (always second... there is now one in the airport that I am tempted to stop and eat at before I see my family)

- Mountains

- Target

- Fast Internet and Spotify

- My own room and queen sized bed

- A bathroom that I only share with one girl 

- Easy travel to church

- Movie theaters

- Independence Day

- Warm weather

- Ability to cook and bake my own food (even though the food here has been great!  There's just something about simple, healthy meals that I don't have to buy that I miss)

- My iPhone (I'm conflicted about this but mostly excited to turn it on again)

I'm sure that list will continue to grow the closer that I get to coming home.  The list of things I will miss about London is much longer and I'll post that at a later time.  For now, it's nice to think about the things I will be coming home to.

Here's a bulleted list of things that happened today:

- Last British Literature class: I almost shed a tear.  It has been one of my favorite classes I have ever taken.

- Mrs. Dalloway walk through London: I went through St. James Park, past Buckingham Palace, and down New Bond Street.

(Poppies in St. James Park)

(St. James Park)

(Outside of Buckingham Palace- not the best view as they are trying to clean up from the Jubilee events)

Found our friends FDR and Churchill at the corner of Old Bond street and New Bond street.

- Imperial War Museum: Hayden would really enjoy this museum.  It had lots of artifacts and information on the World Wars and Holocaust.  It was very informative and presented well.  I was expecting something like the Holocaust Museum in D.C. that made me absolutely sick but this museum had a different approach.  They even had a simulation of what a World War I trench would be like, as well as an exhibit on how World War II effected the families in Great Britain.  

- Attempted to see Matilda again but it was sold out and no student tickets are available for this play!  Then I tried to see Shrek the musical but arrived four minutes after the show started.  I then felt like I deserved hazelnut gelato because nothing went right and I ate it while watching street performers in Covent Gardens (I feel like I hang out there all the time now) and came home to write my history paper blog and write postcards instead.

- Ended the night by gagging with the girls over the fact that Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth are engaged!  Here's just some highlights from our conversation....

Lauren:  They CAN'T be engaged!  Reason #1- She's a skank.  #2- He deserves someone better.  #3- He's MY celebrity crush.  #4- She's younger than I am.

Amanda:  Yep.  Skank.

Tiffany: Wait!  They're engaged?! (types into google) I found their Timeline of Love.  Barf.

Comments evoked from the Timeline of Love

Miley:  Well we're best friends first so that's what I always tell people.

Tiffany:  You're dumb.

Miley:  I'd say we're both deeper than normal people.

Tiffany:  What does that even mean?!  What right do you have to say that you're deeper than anybody else?

Lauren:  That's so weird.  She's younger than I am!  How can she be engaged to him?!

Tiffany:  You don't want to be like her.

Liam:  What happened happened and we've been together ever since.

Tiffany:  He's deep.

Miley:  (about engagement rumors before) I've been wearing this ring on this finger since November.  It's topaz people!

Tiffany:  This finger is called the wedding ring finger.  If you don't want people to talk don't wear a stupid ring on that finger.


Tiffany:  Do you know what's going to happen to them?  They're going to get a divorce!
Jaden:  NO!  Don't say that.  I want Liam to have a happy marriage.
Tiffany:  Dont be selfless.