Day 3: Woke Up in London Yesterday

Except it wasn't in the city near Piccadilly, it was at the BYU London Center!  And please listen to this song just because.  "This has gotta be the good life" for real!


So today was jam packed with activities.  First, I woke up early to read my scriptures and then went jogging in Hyde Park.  I just, ya know, ran from the Centre past Kensington Palace.  No big deal.  But really, I loved it!  I ran around this man made pond that had swans swimming in it and amazing statues.  The grass was incredibly green.  There were other runners out and people doing jiu-jitsu.  It was the most peaceful run I have ever gone on!  I'm definitely doing it again.


Our first activity for the day was heading to the Tower of London.  We saw the beautiful, glistening, crown jewels (no pictures).  They were absolutely gorgeous!  One of the scepters contained a diamond that was 540 carats.  What?  Who even knew those existed?   We also saw the armory which was pretty interesting.  I saw Henry VIII's armor and he was one big man!  We also saw a torture chamber. It wasn't even scary.  There's a myth that when the ravens around the tower fly away, either the tower will fall or London will fall.  So to prevent this from happening they clip their wings.  I think that's just cheating fate!  Although from the looks of things, neither the tower or London will be falling anytime soon.

(Kayley and myself- still looking rather jet lagged)

(Kennedy, Jaden, Katherine, Kelsey, myself, Paige, and Mallory trying to stay dry outside of the Tower.)

(the White Tower)

(Kayley, myself, Kayley, and Whitney)

In the Armory

(Henry VIII's armor)

(Harnessing my inner Katniss)

After a quick lunch we went on another walk for our London Walks class.  We walked around the city where the old Roman walls used to be (the Londinium Walk).  The Romans occupied London for about 400 years.  That's like from Shakespeare's time to our day.  So they're a large part of London history!  "The City" of London is actually inside of the old walls.  We saw a few large parts of the wall that are left and just imagined the rest of the wall as we walked around the perimeter of the city.

Our walk took us all the way from the Tower to the Museum of London. It was a long walk, and it rained, and we almost got hit by a double decker bus but it's fine.  It was great to see more of the city!  The Museum of London was all about London's history.  We saw some artifacts from pre-Roman and Roman times up through the time of the Great Fire, War Time, and today. London's geography, people, and neighborhoods have changed so much but it has stayed wonderful throughout the ages.  I love this town!

I went with a few girls to get Fenton's Ice Cream after dinner.  Super yummy!  And now I need to do homework because I've already kinda forgotten that this is study abroad.  So I should probably study... cheers!

Day 2: "Real" London

This morning I woke up with a new burst of energy, feeling great!  At the end of last night, when I was sitting still, I started feeling like I was on an airplane experiencing turbulence.  I was so mentally, physically, and emotionally zonked (exhausted) that when we got back to the Centre I got ready for bed and fell asleep sometime around 8:30 or 9.  It was so bad.  I slept until about 7 in the morning and woke up feeling fit as a fiddle!


After getting ready, I had breakfast with everyone and then started my first day of school- yay!  I went to class in my slippers. :)  It seems like the classes here are going to be wonderful.  I've laughed a lot from my English professor, Nick Mason, and especially from his brother, Matt Mason, who's my History professor.  Our first day included cheese analogies if that tells you anything about how these classes will be.  They do seem like they will be hard- I have a lot of reading and writing in store for me this semester.  But I am ready for the work!  We already have our first homework assignments that I need to start working on.


We ate a quick lunch (which for me was a peanut butter and nutella sandwhich on wheat bread- apparently it's a thing to do here) and headed off to St. Paul's Cathedral.  What a beautiful and stunning place!  We took the tube out to the cathedral and as soon as I saw the large dome, I felt like I was experiencing "real" London- or maybe just the London I've expected.  There were people feeding the birds on the steps (toppins a bird!).  I wish we had brought some bread with us but alas we did not.  We will have to go back so we can do that too.  We stepped inside the nave of the cathedral (no pictures allowed) for our guided tour and it took my breath away!  It's so large and even though there's so much stonework it still feels light.  I took notes during the entire tour because the history was so interesting to me.  Some of the highlights I saw there were the Geometric Staircase (in Harry Potter 3), the tesserae ceiling in the quire, a picture of Christ knocking at the door, the American Chapel, Sir Christopher Wren's tomb in the crypt.  Sir Christopher Wren was a mathematician and an astronomer but he is best known as the architect for many major sites in London.  After the Great Fire, he was commissioned to redesign a lot of new buildings.  His main creation, which he is most famous for, is St.  Paul's Cathedral itself.  His works are amazing and beautiful and so I was surprised to see the stone slab over his grave was very plain and simple.  Our tour guide told us that Wren wanted it this way.  The plaque above his grave, that his son had created for him, says, "Reader, if you seek his monument look around you."  Isn't that inspiring?

(the steps, like the "feed the birds" woman)

What I enjoyed most about St. Paul's Cathedral were the views from the top of the cathedral.  We climbed up 528 step steps in a claustrophobic staircase to see the panoramic view from the very top!  It was gorgeous!  I could spot the London Eye, the Millennium Bridge (a.k.a. Harry Potter bridge) over the Thames River, and the Globe Theater.  Again, it felt like my "real" London.  

(Super windy up at the top!)

(Kayley and I happy to finally be seeing LONDON!)

(This is the Tower Bridge- NOT London Bridge as many people think)

A few groups started to split up after the tour and a couple of girls said they wanted to see more sights in the area instead of going shopping.  I decided to join them and we went to the Bank of England.  It sounded interesting because that's where Mr. Banks from Mary Poppins worked and we herd Gringotts on Harry Potter was modeled after.  We went to look inside the bank but apparently tourists aren't allowed inside (boo).  But they had a free museum!  We thought, why not, let's try it out.  I really could've skipped learning about inflation and how the pound's design has changed over time.  I did learn that the bank was established by William and Mary which I found interesting.  The most "exciting" part came, however, when I cracked a safe and earned a free little pin in the shape of a gold bar- woo hoo.  


We returned to the center at 5:25 for our mini devotional and London thought, which is done each weeknight before dinner.  Matt told us about when the missionaries were first called to London that the church was really suffering.  Many members of the 12 were apostatizing and the bank had failed.  It was a bad time, and yet, the call to serve came.  The timing wasn't until the next April.  Between April and the time the revelation came, Joseph was imprisoned in Liberty Jail and there was an extermination order out for the Mormons.  The men who were called wondered if they should still go on their mission.  Brigham Young encouraged them to go for two reasons: 1- It was a commandment of the Lord, 2- a lot of non-members knew about the call and thought it would never happen.  The missionaries went anyway and were hugely successfuly!  Although, that's really a story for another time. 


Our dinner was yummy again, a chicken, artichoke, and rice dish.  We also had this delicious ice cream for dessert!  A few people went to different stores after dinner.  I stayed at the Centre with a few other people to do homework.  That was four hours ago and I still haven't started my homework... Instead, I talked to the Mason's daughters about cupcakes and Justin Bieber (he's only a mile away from where we are right now... no big deal).  They are so fun to talk to!  I've also been blogging and writing in my journal.  I've had such a great time so far and I don't want to forget anything I've done.


Cheers until tomorrow.


P.S. Did you know that there is the Utah beehive and a carving of a spaceship inside St. Paul's?  It's true!  Look it up.

Day 1: I've Arrived!

I am finally here in London!  

These last two days have felt like a whirlwind.  I left Tuesday morning to fly from Salt Lake to Detroit with five other girls in my group.  

(Left to right:  Kayley Brooks, Kate Thornock, Madeleine Kmetzsch, myself, Amanda Baugh, and MaCall Ovard) 

After that three hour flight, we explored the Detroit airport and chatted.  I like all of them already!  We then boarded our nearly empty plane to London for a 7 hour flight on which each of us could have had our own row.  I was not tired enough to sleep and so I decided to watch three movies instead... bad idea!  I feel like a walking zombie right now.  Oops!

 (Kayley and I leaving Salt Lake- so excited!)

(Leaving Detroit- still excited but feeling a little tired from travel.)

I wanted to see the island while we were flying but unfortunately it was foggy the entire time.  The song "A Foggy Day in London Town" was playing in my head the whole time.  As soon as a little fog cleared, the first land I saw was GREEN!  So, so, green and beautiful.


After going through customs and meeting with some other people from our group at the airport, we loaded ourselves into a shuttle and headed to the London Centre.  The building is even more beautiful than I saw in pictures.  We got checked in at the Centre and then I hauled my bags up to the FOURTH floor where my assigned bedroom is!  Phew... I will get my workout in every day just going up and down those stairs multiple times (I just counted and it's 65 steep steps).  There are several bunk beds in one room, like five or six, and there are two of these rooms for the girls. 

(this is me at the BYU London Centre! My home sweet home for a few weeks.)

(27 Palace Court- where I live) 

(the stairs)

(I have the top bunk)

I got my bed made, unpacked, and got all of my things organized right before we headed out on our first walk!  Matt Mason, the history teacher, took us on a walk around the neighborhood we're living in.  I stepped foot in Hyde Park for the first time and what I saw of it was beautiful.  It's literally a few steps away from our front door and I look forward to spending a lot of time there.  I bought my Oyster Card (the pass that lets me use public transportation) for the month.  Matt showed us several of his favorite places to eat, buy food, and shop which will be very helpful in helping me become orientated these next few days.  

During our entire walk it was pouring rain.  We were all unprepared and basically soaked.  I then suggested we go find some rain boots.  A lot of girls jumped on board and we headed to Primark!  (Apparently I'm the "girl who's on top of everything" or "the girl with the plan." Four people have referenced me this way and I will take that as a compliment.)  We took our first tube ride to get to the store.  

(First tube ride photo with many people in the group.  If we look exhausted it's because we are.)

Primark is a wonderful place I will definitely be visiting again because I saw SOOOOOOO many cute and cheap things I wanted to buy.  Primark is like a more organized and less cheaply made version of Forever 21.  I bought myself a pair of silver rain boots (£12) and a new little black purse (£4).  It was a great trip and we all want to go back again!  We picked up a few school 
supplies and headed back to the Centre for dinner.

I got to sit next to the Mason kids for dinner, both of my professors' children.  Michael, who is 9, and I talked a lot.  They are all very intelligent and mature for their ages and yet so funny!  Our dinner was some kind of soup with potatoes, green beans, and beef which tasted really yummy since I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast on the airplane.


Our group decided to go out for dessert (all 40 of us loud and proud, young Americans) to Gellato Mio.  It was amazingly delicious!  I got half chocolitto (that's probably not how you spell it but it was dark chocolate) and half biscotto. The biscotto was by far my favorite!  It was so creamy and sweet 
with just the right balance of chocolate and cookie pieces.

Phew... now that I've documented my exciting first day in London, I think I'll call it a night! (The internet is not my friend at the moment and so I'll add pictures of all of these things a little later.) 

Ready Or Not, Here I Come!

I leave in less than 24 hours.

FINALLY!


I am leaving with my mind filled with of memories of my fun and adventurous uncle Jacob.  He passed away unexpectedly Wednesday morning and this weekend has been hard and emotional, to say the least.  Losing a close loved one is absolutely indescribable and yet I take joy in remembering the wonderful things he got to do in his life.  


He loved traveling and spoke often about his adventures in Europe.  His face would light up and with his loud voice would tell me about all the crazy things he got to do there.  He told me his favorite place in the world that he ever traveled was Scotland.  My last conversation with him was when I excitedly shared the good news that I'd be going to Scotland on my trip abroad.  While he was not fully himself at the time, he was so excited for me and couldn't wait to give me all the information he had.  He spoke passionately about how green and beautiful the country is, how nice the people are, and how much fun he had.  He took care to go through his things and set aside a map of Scotland from his trip and write a note specifically for me.


I can't think of better words to leave with than the last ones he wrote me from that note:

"I promise you this will be the best part of your life if you make the most of every second."

I promise that I will Uncle Jakee.


Talk to all of you next time from Britain.

Cheers!

The Event Lineup

While one of the main reasons I am going on study abroad is to study, I am also going to have so many opportunities to do things that can only be done in London.  I've created a calendar type list of what our program currently has planned each day and week.  If you'd like to see all that our group will be doing, you can access the information on the right sidebar under "The Lineup."


I've also added a new feature to the blog!  Under the different tab options there is a "Follow by E-mail" option.  If you enter your e-mail here, this will allow you to receive my posts by e-mail so that you don't have route to the blog each time.  Hopefully this will make things easier for some of you.


After looking through all of the amazing opportunities I'm going to have, I am more excited than ever to travel abroad and enjoy every minute of it!