oh, the walking!

let's just say that i will have walked my fair share after this trip! we no longer have a coach to drive us which i totally understand, but now we walk everywhere and take the tube when we can! my mild plantar fasciitis is kicking in and it's quite painful.


classes started this morning at 9 am. down the street, around the corner, and around another corner is the LDS chapel that we meet in. it's nice to meet there because it's just our BYU group and no one else. i am taking two classes, intro to the english language and history of the english language. we learn about phonetics and and how to break a word down into how it is pronounced (the way your tongue is shaped, where the word comes out of your mouth, etc.) it's interesting to actually break down our words and know that we all have about 10,000 words in our vocabulary on average. it's interesting. we will learn a lot i think! 


we were done at noon, came home (not really home), ate lunch and got ready to head to the tate museum of modern art. hilary and i figured out what trains we needed to take and how to get there, phew! a few of us headed out. the train system wasn't hard to figure out at all. i'm glad we have our passes and can take that basically wherever we need to! little did we know that we would be visiting korea for the day. the train was packed. two guys right next to me were standing nut to butt (ever heard that term? sorry if you havent, haha). i was sweating, we all were sweating! it was disgusting i will say. i don't like when things are like that.


getting off the train exhausted, we quickly found our way around more corners to the museum. seven floors high, it was a sight to see. i guess it used to be a power building or something so there is a lot of construction going on. some exhibits were free, others had a fee. but i thought it was interesting. some modern art is plain out weird, but i like a lot of it! 

waiting for train #1.

this room was glowing orange-red!

all sunflower seeds carved out of porcelain.

some weird stuff. 

thames river.

the boy i met. 

ha just kidding. this was weird!

i think all of us at here at the flat. we have some reading to do for our classes and things. with all of us sharing the kitchen, it gets a little crazy around meal times. but we survive. it's great to be here! london is sweet. and it's a good thing we are right down the way from some of the best shopping in london ;) can't wait to head down that way! 

the view from our "living room" window on a rainy evening.

so far...

ten things i have learned so far:


1. europeans still text and drive! i saw a guy driving a van, definitely not paying attention, while texting. AND driving on the wrong side of the road!


2. i think european people aren't so friendly most of the time. i said hello to this guy tonight and he looked at me like i was the weirdest person on the earth. 


3. i wish i could wear leggings and a t-shirt more. 


four. i love the gym. i am missing it right now. i have hardly ever seen people running here, unless they are american. 


5. i love the US more and more each day! i feel comfortable in the culture and i feel at home. 


6. europeans are mostly weird. 


siete. all of my electronic appliances are traveling the world with me! 


8. i like that i have only talked to people in my family at the most for 10 minutes. (minus skype last night with the cutie kids). not. i don't like that! 


9. i like my home. at home. 


ten. i am a visual learner and i love sightseeing and learning at the same time!


remember when i skyped with my niece:

and my nephew:

and they made up pretend sandwiches and donuts and other goodies and i pretend ate it through the skype cam? haha. i am the coolest aunt! 

arrived at last!

london at last!


we are finally here and i am thrilled! 
another early morning this morning but we were up and at 'em at 6 45 am. the coach departed at 8 and we were on our way to the one and only... stonehenge! it was a medium length bus ride but we made it there. 
it was so darn hot on the bus to decklin (spelling?), the bus driver, cranks on the AC. then it gets freezing in about 3 and 1/2 minutes so those of us in the back of the bus are shivering. it's not pleasant. but whatever. 


stonehenge was totally cool. i wish the rope would have been moved closer a little bit but we were as close as we could get! man, so many tourists were there. it's a tourist magnet. (like chick magnet, but tourists!) as soon as you could see the stones, people were gathered like ants almost. as we made our way around the whole thing, the crowd thinned out and it was better for pictures. stonehenge is definitely one of the wonders of the world! it makes me wonder, how in the world did those huge huge stones get on top of the other ones?? a mystery for sure. 

like a swarm of ants i tell you!

notice my festive shirt for the 4th? i planned that as i was packing!

oops.

the claw.

next, we were off to chawton, where jane austen's house is located. she wrote most of her books in this house. i still haven't read any, but i was our bus was going there and i didn't have much choice!

after this stop, it was on to london! the bus was hot, yet again. i think that this time, decklin decided NOT to turn on the AC button. so air was coming out, but it wasn't cooled. he might as well have just driven without any air on! it was miserable. but soon enough, we pulled into the outskirts of london. 

we passed a great harry potter 7 #2 poster. (i stopped reading/watching HP at #4) but people liked that. i was jamming to bittersweet symphony by verve pipe as we drove through. arriving at kensington high street, the bus stopped and we all sat there. what were we waiting for? i had no idea. the bus was still blazing hot, you could have steamed veggies in there! we all jumped off and waited some more. 

finally, our keys arrived and we headed into the flat. now, let me tell you. i was expecting one thing but that's not what it was once we got inside. i'll admit, i was a bit disappointed, but we have we have and that's all there is to it. hilary, chrisse and i are sharing a small (small) bedroom. there is a bathroom/shower in it which is nice. everyone in our group is in flat #2 and we all have separate bedrooms. A through F i think? we all share a kitchen and study space. hm. 

after arriving, we had an orientation meeting not long after and we learned the house rules. next, we all headed to the tube station to purchase our oyster cards that would last us the 3 weeks we are here. then, onto sainsbury to purchase some food. finally, food! it was a long trip and a long walk back to the flat. 

now, kathryn, hilary and i are at the london center (where the london study abroad stays) doing laundry. mind you, there are like 5 floors in this building filled with other university students. we met the beeziest girls while we are here doing laundry! man, i am a little irritated. 2 washers and 2 dryers for 100+ people, plus us, who do not have those appliances at our place! they freaked out that we pulled their wash out and set it on the top of the washer while we put our load in. some people man. 

classes start tomorrow and that will be yet, another adventure! then off to explore the city! can't wait for it. 

i am missing my fam bam tonight. they are all in midway celebrating my uncle varlin's birthday. 4th of july bday, how cool is that? it's one of my favorite Law family gatherings. and i've missed 2 years in a row! darn. 

walking around bristol sunday night.