I haven't truly been alone for a long time. When I lived in Provo, I'm was always with other students or my co-workers or roommates. Sometimes I was home alone but it was a rare occurrence. Then I moved home and enjoyed spending time with my family but again, no time alone. In the London Centre there are three families and 40 students... it's always busy and there is something going on. I love being around people so much but sometimes I just need to do my own thing. This Sunday I had the perfect opportunity to do my own thing so I went on a walk to the park.
My ward starts at 1:00 and most of the other students have a ward that starts in the morning so the Centre is very quiet on Sunday mornings. There were only about six of us here but it was a beautiful day and I wanted to get outside. I got all ready and walked out the door and for the first time... I was by myself. It was wonderful! I walked down Embassy Row where a majority of different national embassies are located. I turned and walked by Kensington Palace and Kensington Gardens. I met some nice ladies from New Jersey who took my picture for me. They were so nice, they asked me where my accent was from (I was speaking normally mind you...) and told me I looked like Kate (a.k.a. the Duchess of Cambridge). They asked for my suggestions about things to do in London and it felt good to know what I was talking about. They were very nice! The gardens were absolutely beautiful. Once again, the British know how to landscape in a way that is so impressive.
(Will and Kate's future home)
(Queen Victoria who was born here)
(These little guys are everywhere here!)
I then walked around this large pond that had dozens and dozens of swans as well as ducks. There were pigeons and ravens everywhere as well that people were feeding. I don't really like birds and trust me when I say there were TONS! I faced my fear and walked right through them though. :) I walked all the way around the large pond and then went on a walk down a flower path. The flowers were all in bloom and it was beautiful. There were dozens of squirrels around and birds here too. I saw a dad and his twin sons feeding the animals. The little boys were more interested in chasing the animals everywhere which made me laugh a little bit.
(This park is SO dog friendly, there is even a pet cemetery here. This is a little water pool for dogs to get a drink in. Cute, right?)
(This is a BEAUTIFUL tree- I want one)
The next monument I saw was the Royal Albert Memorial. It is literally breathtaking. I think I mentioned before that I passed this on our walk to church last week and was impressed with the symbols it showed of Victoria's love, how Albert was revered by the people, and the sense of nationalism and the world power that Britain became with his help. Each of the monuments on the four corners represents the areas that Britain had rule over at the time: Europe, Americas, Asia, and Africa. I could have looked at it for a very long time.
(Royal Albert Hall- right across the street)
(To give you an idea of how big it is, when I stand tall I come up about 6 inches short of the top of the fence at the bottom of the picture. Crazy!)
I proceeded to walk along the green path until I reached the statue called Physical Energy that I've run past before. It's impressive and because of it's title, it usually inspires me to keep going. I haven't been very consistent with running here but I realized just how much there is to explore here which re-motivates me to run more- just to see as much as possible.
I continued walking and watched joggers with their dogs playing catch, people riding their bikes, families out for walks, tourists with all different languages exploring... there truly was a diverse group but everyone seemed to be enjoying their time just like I was. There's a sense of peacefulness and stillness in the park. I purposefully didn't take a watch with me to the park because I didn't want to rush myself. I wanted to notice the big things and the little things, which I did. I told time by the church bells ringing in the distance. I felt like Elizabeth Bennet who is "very fond of walking." I want to walk in a park every Sunday morning now! Not just Hyde Park but Holland Park and Regents Park as well... they have many great parks here just like they have many grand gardens. I've been in Central Park which was my favorite part of New York but it didn't have the same feeling as Hyde Park. I still feel like I'm in the city in NYC but here I feel like I'm in the wilderness, like I've stepped into the English countryside for a stroll. It's hard to describe but I feel so at peace there.
As I was walking, I turned a corner and saw one of the things I have wanted to see the very most... the Peter Pan statue. The statue was put in at night so that the children would think fairies placed it there. I was SO happy to see it because I read Peter Pan by J.M. Berrie last semester as my "fun" book and absolutley fell in love with it. I identify with Wendy so much. She wants to be the mother and always acts in charge. She is the boss and has a hard time playing make believe. She is always practical and knows when she has to go back to real life. While she is sensible, she does have fantasies and dreams and passions. She is somewhat like Elinor that we have been studying from Sense and Sensibility. I identify with these characters so much but to some extent I need to be a little more like Peter... I'll probably write more about that later. But I digress- I loved the statue!
At this point, I walked past some fountains and then turned around to head home. I literally started tearing up. Why? I don't know... I'm emotional. But I had such a wonderful time seeing the beauty around me and I didn't want to go back the Centre. It's so close so I will go back several times each week and I've spent time there before but I LOVE HYDE PARK! If you are ever in London, just go to the Park and get lost. You won't regret it.
We finally got our ward assignments last week and so we were all excited to finally get to our wards this week. There are six people in our group assigned to the Crystal Palace ward, myself included. We have to leave the Centre at 11:30 am, walk to the tube and take a tube to another tube to a train and then walk a couple blocks to church. Normally, we would just go to the Britannia Ward that we went to last week which is across Hyde Park (so super close). But because we get assigned to these smaller wards we have to do some extra travel. I knew it wouldn't be a cake walk but I thought it sounded like an adventure! And it was....
The people who run the Tube in London are *brilliant (*= sarcastic comment) because they shut down a lot of stations on the weekends when most people use the Tube. *Perfectly logical, right? So we checked online before we left to make sure the closures wouldn't affect us. It didn't and so we took our two tubes and got to the giant train station. Right when we got there they shut down all trains coming to or leaving the station. This meant we had to find another way to get to church. So we took another two tubes to get to another train station. At this station, we had to go to like four different platforms until we found the right one. We finally got on the train and rode to our destination. It took us two and a half hours to get to church which is the longest it has ever taken me! Not to mention it was fast sunday and each station we happened to go to had places to eat that smelled delicious! We were dying... We kind of made a joke of it saying that Satan was trying his hardest to keep us from getting to the ward but that we were going to get there and do it without breaking the sabbath or our fasts. The unexpected excursion made me so very much more grateful for the location that I live in in Utah.
We were an hour late to church because of all of the changes so we missed relief society and priesthood. However, we were able to make it for sunday school and sacrament meeting. The chapel we meet in is very small, probably like three rooms and a chapel. I'm not sure how many people are in the ward but it seemed to me that there were only two or three families with children, very few youth (if any) and mostly older couples or older single women who are minorities. Everyone was very kind that we talked to! They invited us BYU students specifically to share our testimonies but the ward members and missionaries there all had testimonies to share so me and another girl didn't get the chance to bear our testimony. I want to be one of the first people up next month so I can have the opportunity. We don't have our ward assignments yet but they said that we should get them next week. I will serve wherever they need me!
Getting back home was much easier because the original train station closure was now open. We got home right in time for fast sunday dinner! I was SO hungry and hoping for roast beef and mashed potatoes. Unfortunately, we had a pasta that wasn't very good and some kind of meat. It was the first meal here at the Centre that I haven't really liked. I was missing the food at Grandma's fast sunday dinner and everyone else there. I don't think I can ever live outside of Utah county because I will miss those dinners and people too much! I would have liked to be with everyone and I think about Grandma and Grandpa on a daily basis. I love my family so much! We will have a reunion filled with so much love when I get home. :)
At night, our directors gave us a brief meeting about our upcoming trip to Paris. There is no way in this world that I will be able to see everything I want to see there within the amount of time we have. I'm planning on getting stuck in as much as possible and just running like a mad man so I can do as much as possible! I can't believe I'm even going to Paris! AHHHHHHHHH! Mini freak out moment... so excited! :)
I finished my paper due on Monday at 9 am at 4 am... It was a long Sunday, especially the night, but I was so happy for all the adventures I had. I am feeling more and more like I fit in here. I think I could live here quite easily (except for missing my family and fast sunday dinners- of course).
Life is good! :)
