Birthday Blog!

Good day to you! And happy birthday to ME! It is the big 2-1 and I am quite enjoying myself so far.. still sober! I made myself some scrambled eggs this morning before I went to Top Pot to get myself a grande mocha and a dozen donuts (to share with my sister of course). I visited Ashley at work and we "cheers"ed our yummy, sprinkled donuts. I went home to watch some videos and listen to music of my favorite band, Family Force 5, until the donut settled in my tummy. Then I went for a birthday jog, and now I'm here!

A few exciting things, besides my birthday, have happened since my last post.

The day after the hike, I went to Portland, Oregon. Why? Well, a few years ago I saw a small add about visiting Portland in some magazine, and I never forgot about it. I couldn't get Portland out of my mind so I figured while I'm in the Northwest I might as well succumb to my curiosity, get on a train, and go there. Quinn and I took the train down together. We parted at the Portland train station where he was met by a friend and I went off on my own in search of the hostel I would be staying at. It took me about an hour to walk the hostel from downtown Portland. It was a really beautiful walk. I crossed Hawthorne bridge over the Willamette River which, according to Wikipedia, is a major tributary of the Colombia River. (info for dad ;) I stayed at the Hawthorne Hostel in the Hawthorne village of Portland. When I went inside I was in line to check in behind 4 kids my age who had been sitting in the row in front of me on the train. We recognized each other and they told me that had taken the bus to get from the train station to the hostel. "Oh, nice. I walked.", I said somewhat boastfully as I dropped my 20 pound backpack and watched their eyebrows raise and jaws drop. "No big deal.. I've been dominating Seattle hills for a few weeks AND I did a 9 mile hike yesterday so.... it's whatever". (I didn't say that.. but I wanted to)

My Ducky Friend at the river

I spent my first afternoon exploring the Hawthorne area before retiring to my bed in the hostel. The second day I took the bus downtown to see some of the major Portland attractions, the first of which was Powell's City of Books. I ended up spending most of the day there. My friend Tyler, a fellow AIFS student I met in London, met me at Powell's before we went to lunch. (Hi Tyler!... you're probably not reading this so, never mind) After lunch he Google Mapped our way to Voodoo Donuts, a famous donut shop. I had one triple chocolate with Coco Puffs and one topped with Oreo cookie crumbles. Tyler got a maple bar topped with crispy bacon. (..... boys) We went back to explore the travel section of Powell's before parting. Now Tyler is in Italy for another AIFS study abroad semester. (JEALOUS!!) I had bought some Oscar Wilde material at Powell's so I found a little spot by the river to read some from a book of Wilde quotes. There, I made friends with a duck and marveled at the peaceful energy of Portland.

 From there, I went back to Hawthorne to eat tacos and do a bit of writing. I went to bed at 11 but I didn't fall asleep until 5 the next morning. I was sharing a room with 7 other women who were taking turns snoring all night. I had my iPod on and listened to my entire collection of Glee music. (2 hours worth.. I could have listened to it three times, but my iPod ran out of battery) I got up at 9, packed my things and bussed downtown. I walked 20 minutes to the train station, bought a ticket back to Seattle, and found a nice little coffee place nearby called Pints to get my pick-me-up for the day. It was much needed because I walked, for the third time since arriving in Seattle on Sept. 9th, from the train station to Ashley's apartment. (this time with a giant backpack and a shopping bag full of books... but no big deal, I didn't sleep the night before so, it's whatever ;)

The infamous Fremont Troll

Ash tried many flavors :)

Quinn's new favorite shirt

Quinn came back from Portland a day after me and two days before his return home. We spent our last full day together hanging out in Fremont and Ballard, AFTER having a full breakfast of eggs, bacon and pancakes. (we watched an episode of Inspector Gadget too.)  In Fremont we found the Troll and did some shopping. We walked from Fremont to Ballard to find the ice cream truck Ashley's friend works at. We had some REAL great organic ice cream there. Then went home to have a mini fashion show of our new threads and watched The Hangover. (which reminds me.. I need to bring my camera with me tonight in case I forget everything that happens by tomorrow. What if I wake up to find a tiger in the bathroom!?)

Mt. Rainier as seen on a clear day

Ashley left early the next morning to go camping with some friends. I took Quinn up to the Volunteer Park water tower because it was a very clear day with GREAT views of the surrounding mountains. We saw Mt. Rainier! (my favorite mountain: last year when I flew into Seattle I awoke from a little snooze as we started to land. when I looked out the window I saw the peak of Mt. Rainier framed by puffy, moonlit clouds. it was probably the most beautiful thing I've ever seen from the sky.)
Later, Quinn headed for home and I headed to the beach! Another long walk on a beautiful day. I stayed at the beach for a few hours. I even took off a layer to soak up some sun and got a wee bit burned.

BEACH!

I had planned to take the bus back home because my journey to the beach had been mostly downhill. I wasn't sure if I was up for an up hill battle after relaxing on the beach for so long. But when I got half-way home without seeing a bus headed my way.. I decided to just keep my two dollars and burn a few more calories. (have I mentioned recently how much I LOVE walking?)

Since then I have mostly just been watching movies and enjoying this last, relaxing week of vacation. The ever anticipated 21st birthday celebration will be tonight at The Triple Door stage having some drinks and enjoying some traditional Irish music by a band called Lunasa. ( I have a feeling my memories from O'Neill's will come flooding back to me!)

Cheers!

Alive... and Learning.

On Sunday I went on a 9 mile hike with Ashley and Quinn in the North Cascade Mountains. The last time the three of us were together hiking up a mountain was more than 6 years ago and memorably and unpleasant experience. Back then we were all in very different places in our lives so the trip was not a very successful bonding experience. This time the parents were not there, we were accompanied by a friend, (Steve who we have now adopted as another brother in the family) and we are all in more similar places in life than we ever have been. Quinn is almost 3 years older than I am, and Ashley is about 6 years older than me. Growing up, those years make a BIG difference. Now we are all in our twenties so we get along more like friends than siblings.

So about this hike: We were picked up by Steve at 9am on Sunday and we drove 2 hours north of Seattle to start on the Hidden Lake trail. The trail was about 4.5 miles and we hiked it all the way up and all the way back down. We started through a heavily forested area that treated us with a set of steps that helped with our trek upward. After we crossed a stream we emerged from the forest when the trail opened up into a colorful meadow. We stopped for air, water, and a photo before we continued up. The ongoing conversations distracted me from how tired I was already becoming and how the elevation was making it difficult to breathe. Quinn and I quietly took turns taking the lead while Ashley and Steve reminisced about college days and brought up the tail of our troop.  We are all mid-western natives so we stopped often to gaze in awe at the mountains and rest our booties. (It's hard to keep your ass in shape when you live in Iowa where there are no hills to challenge your glutes. I'm just sayin')

 About 3/4 the way up the scenery started to get real rustic. Jagged rocks would come out from hiding behind the mist as we walked. I couldn't get enough of being on the same level as the clouds as I watched them shift and change form. The wind was steadily picking up speed and the temperature was dropping. By this point, Trailblazin' Quinn had gone up ahead of us on the trail. Ashely, Steve and I remained generally quiet except for the spastic moments of saying to the scenery "Wow" and "I want cheese!". We had been walking up and up for almost 3 hours and our minds were  becoming very conscious of how our bodies were feeling.
(TIRED + COLD = HUNGRY) The final stretch of climb was through a patch of snow. It was quite the challenge trying to keep our balance, not slip, and keep our fingers from freezing.

When the three of us got up to the top/end of the trail we found Quinn and we all huddled behind a boulder for some eats. Then we noticed the view of the "Hidden Lake". (we found it) Exhausted to the point of delirium, we giggled more than necessary at each others' runny noses, cherry cheeks, and urges to pee.

On the way back down the snowy bit became interesting. Quinn was leading well, being careful not to slip until with one wrong move he was on his ass sliding down the rest of the mini glacier. I had been trying to crab-walk along the side of the snowbank up against the cliff but it was not working well for me. After Ashley and Steve passed me, also sliding on their asses, (hollering with joy while they did) I  did too. A numb bum and wet jeans for the rest of the hike was SO worth it.

Back-tracking was surprisingly strenuous. There were parts of the trail I had already forgotten about so mentally I was aware of how long the hike had actually been. Physically, going down was about at hard as going up. The climb causes you to fight gravity which is a choice. Every upward step is a decision to keep moving forward. The de-climb is submission to gravity. You either take a step or you fall on your face. We had been rained on during the up-hill which caused the trail to be slick for the descent. We each slipped a few times, causing the rest of the party to point and laugh of course.

From my wet clothes to my tired muscles to my cold bones I could feel the accomplishment of the day. It was physically demanding but so rewarding. The views and the company made the pain tolerable, welcome even. So what was it about our hike 6 years ago that was so disappointing? I only remember being wet and cold and unappreciative of the company I was with. (ugh.. family!) I was 14. That's all. I see myself in pictures from years past and I see a different person. The "me" in the picture doesn't know nearly the amount of things I know now. Time has brought me knowledge about what life is. I don't claim to hold the secrets to the meaning of life or anything, but life means so much more to me now than it did when I was 14. I don't complain anymore about being rained on, having tired feet (make that a tired BODY) or being cold. Those are physical signals that tell me I Am ALIVE! This hike was a great bonding day for us as 20-somethings I think because we all know now not to take life so seriously. We have learned to take joy in the moments that make us feel alive.

Listen up, You! (yes, Reader... I'm talking to you) You're ALIVE right now. If you are a balls-deep sports fan get off the couch, turn the TV off, then gather some buddies and go play. If you're worried about money then go spend some. If you're worried about something going on at work, take a vacation.

I didn't know that I cared so much about these thoughts when I woke up that morning before the hike. I don't know that I'll still think the same way about them tomorrow. I do know that I know more than that 14-year-old version of me who complained about hiking in a truly beautiful place with a truly beautiful family. I want to wake up every morning for the rest of my life and say to myself, "I know something You don't know". That way I will start of every day being aware that I am alive.. and learning.

Don't take life so seriously.

Things I Love

I tried to write this blog a few days ago  but it was terrible. It read "today I did this and then and then and then". LAME. I realize it's been about a week since my previous blog and I actually have done a few things, but I don't want to lay out a boring time line of those things. Instead I'll give a nice little list of the great moments this week has held.

Things I have loved about this week:
- Quinn is here! Three siblings back together!
- Walking up and down HILLS! Iowa is seriously lacking in awesome hills to climb.
- Walking, in general, to everywhere. 
- Writing letters and postcards to people.
- Ashley sharing her home (and bed) with me.
- Quinn sharing his breakfast, clam chowder, and awesome sun glasses with me.
- Preparing and eating meals family style.  Teamwork!
- Sibling silliness!
- Jogging/climbing stairs/ enjoying views of Seattle at Volunteer park near Ashley's place.
- Reading Stephen King's memoir On Writing.
- Doing Ashley's dishes and spending a day doing all of our laundries.

Here are some pictures of us doing stuff:

A and Q with our Salmon dinner.

The shades Quinn let me borrow.

Quinn, you have some mustard on your face.

Ashley, Stop taking pictures of us!

Your turn, yo.

Quinn's feet in the sand.

Quinn and crab head.

 

Tomorrow we're going for a hike, and next week holds plans for a trip to Portland!

"This Ain't Yo Mama's Ice Cream Truck"

I suppose I can take a break from all of the nothing I'm doing to write a blog.

Ashley and I went to a block party across the street from her apartment on Friday night. Believe it or not, we met fellow Iowans there who live in this neighborhood in Seattle. I didn't stay long enough to enjoy much else than the food, but Ashley stayed late to mingle with her neighbors. She met a couple of girls her age who went to a high school near ours in Iowa. This world is REALLY way too small. They invited Ashley and I to join them on Saturday at a sports bar downtown to watch the Iowa vs. Iowa State football game. I expected to see a small crowd of Iowa fans in the bar, but on Saturday as we walked nearer and nearer to the bar we saw more and more people sporting Iowa gear. Inside the bar there was a sea of gold t-shirts. Some simply had IOWA printed in bold across the front. Some displayed the Hawkeyes logo. Some said BEAT STATE. One said "Keep tailgating until he's cute". (that's the spirit) My sister and I squeezed into a booth with our new friends and watched the bar become packed with Iowa fans. (one person came in an Iowa State shirt... he got lots of dirty looks) After about an hour of eating and talking about how awesome Iowa is the game started. I don't know much about football so all I can really say about the game is... poor Iowa State. The Hawkeyes dominated! Iowa won with 35 points.. affectionately giving Iowa State 7 points for a courtesy touchdown at the end of the game. What I CAN talk about is the mid-western sporting spirit in the bar. After every touchdown (and sometimes during dull moments like when the Cyclones were trying to score points) a random guy stood up with his trombone and played the Iowa fight song. About 8 times throughout the game the whole crowd participated in the I-O-W-A chant. (one corner of the place says "I!", then the next corner says "O!", the next corner says "W!" and the last corner says "A!". Repeated about 5 times each round) GO HAWKS!

After the game, Ashley and I did a little shopping. Walking around the streets in Seattle we heard some obnoxious rap music with the bass blasting. When we got closer to the noise it seemed to be coming from an Ice Cream Truck. I thought it was an interesting way to target ice cream sales to an audience more diverse than just small children. Later when we were walking away from downtown the truck drove by us. "Yo yo yo! This ain't to mama's ice cream truck!" rapped the guy in the front seat. Indeed... it was not.

Then we went home haven't done much else since. I love this. You know, you don't have to go somewhere warm with beaches to call your time vacation. Last night as I went to bed after sitting around doing nothing for several hours I started to feel a little bit restless about my lazy behavior since I've arrived here. Much of my time has been spent laying around.. literally doing nothing. BUT I LOVE IT! I told my restless self to chill out. It argued, "but now you're laying in bed pretending like you're going to sleep but you're not even tired! You could be reading! Or doing you sister's dishes! DO SOMETHING!"

"No." I replied, "I don't think I will." And I snuggled into cozy covers and thought happy thoughts to keep me warm until I fell asleep an hour or two later.

"What do you need coffee for?"

Hello again, Readers! (aka.. Mom)

Another adventure is under way, this time in the comfort of my own country. I am currently 24 hours into my stay in Seattle, Washington. Why Seattle? Why now? Well, my sister has been living in Seattle for a couple years and recently got her own place. So I'm taking advantage of my connection in a fantastic city to take a break from my mid-western responsibilities. I really haven't had a break from the daily grind for over a year. It's been school and work and discovering myself in London (ugh... what a DRAG!) and more work and more school. I was growing weary of having specific places to be every day at specific times to do specific things. (like work and school) Then I failed the math class that was supposed to be the final stretch of my college career. "Give me an effing break already!", I said to myself. "Okay. How about a month in Seattle with quite literally NO daily schedule and NO responsibilities?". Deal. Let's do it. That's right. I have no reason to be here other than I WANT TO. The only plans I have are to read and write. So far so good!

My journey to Seattle started on Tuesday evening, unfortunately alone. My big bro had a ticket to ride (and he didn't care) but he got a really awesome alternative to the trip called Lyme Disease. So my dad drove me up to St. Paul, handed me a wad of cash and three Snickers bars, and said Goodbye. I was supposed to board the train at 11:15pm but the train was running late. Around midnight when the train was an hour late and I had heard it would still be another hour until it was here, I sent a distressed text message to my boyfriend.
"My optimistic mojo is dying! I'm so pissed off! I want to get on this train now!" A few deep breaths and revelation later I texted him again. "Mojo has been found. I just remembered I'm on vacation and I have no need to be on time for anything. Life is good."
I didn't board until almost 2am. I found a seat in the dark coach next to an older gentleman, probably 60 years old. Until I was sleepy enough to try to sleep, I read a couple chapters from Eat, Pray, Love. Then for about four hours I drifted in and out of sleep. The train wasn't dark enough. I was cold. The guy across the aisle from me was snoring. Finally as the sun was coming up I gave up on sleep. My seat mate (I learned later his name is Craig) got up around 6:30 and came back with a coffee.
"Where did you get that?" I asked Craig.
He directed me to the lounge car which was directly behind ours. I grabbed a couple bucks and walked like a zombie to the basement of the lounge where I was third in line at the little cafe. The train jerked one way and the other and I had to do a little two-step to keep my balance. "Don't start dancin' now", said the guy behind the counter. I gave him a shy, little courtesy laugh. When it was my turn to order he asked politely (and way too cheery for 7 O'clock in the morning) what he could get for me. "Just a coffee", I said. I was hiding under the hood of my sweatshirt, surely looking like a train-wreck. (get it? TRAIN-wreck) "What do you need a coffee for?", he asked. Haha. Very funny.
 I spent most of my day in the lounge car reading and napping. I finished Eat, Pray, Love before lunch and moved on to Stephen King's memoir On Writing. This one I've read before but now I feel it might have more relevance for my life in pursuit of being a somewhat decent writer.
During my reading breaks I would catch a few Zs sitting at one of the tables in the lounge. I found the falling-asleep-in-class style of sitting most comfortable. (resting my head on my books) Or I would just sit at one of the sofas watching the rocky North Dakota and Montana scenery go by. For a while there was a man sitting next to me who sparked my interest. I pretended not to notice, but he was talking to himself quietly. He even used hand gestures and laughed at his reflection in the window. I could tell he was a little bit crazy, but I was a little bit jealous. I mean, I enjoy myself enough to keep myself company.. but I rarely have full-on conversations with myself when there are other people around. Also, this man made me recognize the windows in this train really are nicely reflective. My hood had been up most of the day because I didn't want to know what was going on with my hair. I untied my hoodie and let my locks out only to discover that they looked very nice. Note to self... wear a hood when sleeping (or not sleeping) on a train more often.
In the evening I went back to my seat and talked to Craig for a while. Such a nice guy. We shared stories about some crazy things we did in high school with our friends. Craig told me how many of his buddies he could fit in his little car, and told me about the time he and his wife did a Chinese-fire-drill together right after their wedding. I told Craig about when my best friends tied the seat belts together in the back seat of my car on the hottest day of summer.
Soon it was too dark to see outside so I did a little more reading, then started to try sleeping around 10pm. Before long I was uncomfortable in my seat so I took my pillow to the lounge car and "fell-asleep-in-class" again. I imagined myself in AP Government class my senior year of high school. Tired of listening to the teacher saying something about something I really don't care to listen to. Beginning to drool on my text book as I daydreamed about being anywhere but here. "What if instead of a text book, I was resting my head on a pillow... in a train headed far far away." Welcome to reality, Sista.

The lounge car closed at 5am when we got to Spokane, WA. At Spokane the train split in half. My car and up was headed to Seattle. The lounge car and back was headed to Portland. Once again I went to my seat by Craig and passed out a little while longer. When I woke up we were somewhere in Washington with boring scenery but before long I started to see mountains. By 10am I had had two cups of coffee and was still struggling to stay awake as we chugga chugga chooed through the Cascade mountains. I fell asleep again for a while, and the next time I woke up we were an hour away from Seattle. Whoopee! As the train backed into the station in Seattle I wished Craig a safe journey. He and a buddy were meeting in Washington to start a cross-country road trip. He wished me well too, saying "Good luck with your writing and good luck in your future". Goodbye Craig. Goodbye train.

Hello Seattle! Hello Sister! Now that I was reunited with my kin and my luggage I was ready to be reunited with my appetite and a bed. Ashley took me to a Chinese food place. I ordered sweet and sour chicken like I always do. I'm a little disappointed in myself sometimes for being boring that way.. but I always tell myself I'm just trying find the best sweet and sour chicken in the world. (which is NOT at Noodle Stop in London)
We rode the bus to Ashley's neighborhood and walked to her apartment. It's beautiful, quaint, cozy, and I am so excited for my sister to be living here. I took a shower and a nap. When I woke up I felt refreshed and ready to take on my month of vacation. My sister and I spent the evening eating mac & cheese, talking about boys, and planning some nights out. We thought about opening up Ashley's nice bottle of wine, but she wants to wait for Quinn to get here so we can share with him. We drank chamomile tea instead.

Get here soon, Quinner. I'm thirsty.

Home?

Finally, on April 23rd, the airlines were opened and we were able to weather the storm of volcanic ash in the atmosphere and fly home. The flight was an emotional roller coaster. I was so ready to be home but I was already missing my London. It was nice to see familiar faces on the TV screens in the airplanes, but our flight attendants had ugly, Chicagoan accents. I missed hearing the British accent everywhere.

Being home at first was pretty weird. I felt like I had gone back in time, or like I had never left. I knew I had been away because I had all these fantasy-like memories of someplace called London. But my closet was full of winter clothes and everything seemed to be exactly the way I left it which caused me to think... maybe it was a dream? The best dream I've ever had in my life, if so.

Less than 24 hours after landing in Des Moines I flew out to Houston. I spent my first week at home relieving jet-lag and babysitting my cousins. One night I took them to Burger King and saw an older couple wearing matching plaid shirts and white cowboy hats. I saw some young men wearing mis-matching shorts and t-shirts. I missed the stylish men and women in London.

In this transitional stage of my life, my dreamy-eyed, youthful imagination is making plans to apply for internships in London in a couple of years. Maybe one day I'll get my citizenship there. We'll see where life takes me.

Tolerance

On Saturday, April 17th at 10:15am I was supposed to be taking off from London Heathrow on my way back to Des Moines. Instead I sat on a sunny wooden bench in Cranley Gardens, one of my favorite secret spots in Muswell Hill. My view overlooked the barren London skyline. There was neither cloud nor airplane in the sky.

Rewind a couple of days. Thursday I was having lunch with Tiffany, Levi, and Mindy and Witherspoons near the Tower of London. We had been on a tour of Westminster Abbey already and planned to take a look at St. Paul's Cathedral after lunch. Levi got the news on his Blackberry that a volcano had erupted in Iceland and the ash was causing flight cancellations. We laughed, wondering if the delays would carry on through Saturday. Sure enough, we heard from AIFS on Friday that our flight had been canceled. They re-booked us for a Monday flight and made arrangements for us to move into a flat in Kensington, as our time with our home stay families was up. (Mindy and I could not have been more excited) On Saturday instead of a trip to the airport we took a trip downtown with all of our luggage and moved into the flat. Mindy, Gillian, Tiffany and I share a 2 bedroom basement apartment. Levi has a single a few floors up.

We didn't bother to settle in too much since we would only be staying two nights. On Sunday, however, one of our RA's knocked on our door and informed us that our Monday flight had been canceled and the soonest they could get us out was Wednesday. We celebrated with a BOYB party and invited some of the other AIFS students who were living in the flats to join us. Early in the evening Gillian told me that her original plan for Sunday was to have her mom's tuna noodle casserole at home. Of the many things that Gillian, myself, and our moms have in common... tuna noodle casserole? The only difference, we discovered, was that my mom adds peas to the mix. Her mom adds potato chips. (I think the combination of the two would be delightful) Anyway.. having heard the words "tuna noodle casserole" come out of my new best friend's mouth made me miss my mommy and start to cry. We had all been so prepared to go HOME. We had made plans to see friends and family. I, for one, was excited just to have my own cell phone back so I could call people and hear their voices. It was a stressful weekend. I am not the type of person who can easily adjust to not having a game plan. I like to visualize my life in advance.. WAY in advance. I was stressing because I didn't know whether I should do my laundry or wait until I got home.

On Monday we were informed of the final plan. We would be staying until Friday. At last... I could breathe. But not really because volcanic ash was causing my lungs to collapse. Okay... not really. But most of us have been experiencing difficulty breathing, minor coughing, and congestion. Volcanic ash? Maybe. 10 weeks of trying to balance school, drunkenness, and hangovers catching up to us? Much more likely. The first day of the last week in London was filled with resting, laundry washing, grocery shopping, and movie watching. Day two we ventured out a little bit. Gillian and I went to the National History Museum where I hugged a trunk of petrified wood from Arizona. (anything to get me closer to home) We also walked through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. ( these are all just down the street from what we now call home) We came home to Tiffany, Levi, and Mindy cooking up a storm! We all contributed to what will probably be called The Last Supper. We had multiple pastas and sauces. One of the sauces we named Tiffsauce after Tiffany.. because several weeks ago I started to call her Tiffsauce.. then it stuck.. and we needed to actually have a sauce to call Tiffsauce. It was delicious! We also tried to make a mixed drink called Volcanic Ash to toast our extended stay to. The mixture was white wine, red wine, and Morgan's Spiced. We ended up calling it Volcanic Ass. It was not delicious.

It has been strange to venture back out into the city after having said goodbye to so many things last week. I cherished my last moments at Highgate tube station... which I had to visit again this evening. I had kissed ONeill's goodbye last Friday (quite literally) and went there tonight for dinner. I had already said "Goodbye Forever" to my friends there... then had to say hello again? It wasn't easy. I had been fairly certain last Saturday as I gazed at the empty skyline that I was experiencing my last hours in Muswell Hill. As much as I feel blessed to be spending extra time in legendary London, I feel more like I am tolerating it... and less like I am enjoying it.

Does anyone know where I can get some Velveeta in London? I need to make tuna noodle casserole.... NOW.

Epic Win

Here is a list of some personal accomplishments to remember from this trip:

- I found myself lost on several occasions and became quite familiar with my map-reading skills.
- I slept on the most uncomfortable bed without my snuggly Lucy by my side for ten whole weeks.
- I went to two concerts and met the members of my favorite band, Family Force 5.
- I sent a post card to everyone on my list. (except Mom, she got a letter)
- I was ALMOST hit by a double-decker bus, a taxi, and a car.. but I dodged those and settled for being hit by a bicycle in Dublin.
- I survived a mugging in Barcelona.
- I sang my favorite Shania Twain song, "Any Man of Mine" Karaoke-style and NAILED IT!
- I have developed a new laugh. It's much more genuine and hearty than the boring old ones.
- I learned how to read lips without words.... First   Kiss   Ever. (well worth the wait)
- I rediscovered my passion for writing.
- I have become more completely confident within myself. I don't know exactly what that means.. but I feel good about myself. More good than I think I ever have before.

My life as an ant

Did you know the average life span of an ant is 45-60 days? I was picnicing today while watching the little ants around me going about their business. I learned a few years ago how short the life of an ant is, and I began to wonder if ants realize how little time they have to live. Do they live each day to it's fullest potential? Ants don't need to worry about the future because they really don't have one. That sounds nice, doesn't it?

I did the math and counted 70 total days to this study abroad trip. So if I were a healthy ant, lucky enough to live for 70 days, I would have been born on February 7th (the day I arrived in London) and I will die on April 17th (the day I leave). I have done A LOT of living since I have been here. It is starting to sink in now that a very important period of my life is about to close it's curtains. Morbid or marvelous? What would you do if you had a week left to live?

We Are Leprechauns

It was Thursday, April 1st at 9pm. I was writing in my journal on a hostel bed in Dublin and wondering why I didn't just collapse and pass out. My day had started the previous Tuesday at 7am. Have you ever had a day that is just starting to get fun as night is falling so you stay up all night as you're having more and more fun and before you know it you're walking home at 6am and then you go to school at 8 having had no sleep and all you get is a nap before packing your bag and flying to Dublin to walk around a foreign city completely delirious and dreamy-eyed because you haven't slept for 48 hours?

I have.

We (Gillian, Levi, Mindy, Tiffany, and I) landed in Dublin on the morning of April 1st and met our friend Gabby in the airport. We were all ready to get to our hostel, check in, and take a nap. Unfortunately, we discovered, our hostel didn't to check-ins until 1pm. So we locked our luggage in a closet and left to explore Dublin. The highlights of the first day in Ireland included eating, sleeping, and gift shops.

 A much needed and well deserved slumber led me to April 2ndwhen I was refreshed and ready for a day trip to Kilkenny with Paddy Wagon tours. The trip started off wet and cold. Our first stop was to the ruins of a monastery. The other stops on the way to Kilkenny were scenic places to snap a few pictures. The sun was out by the time we arrived in Kilkenny for lunch. We ate at McDonald's because it was Good Friday and nothing else was open. We came across a lovely castle and a cemetery in Kilkenny before we got back on the bus and headed back to Dublin. We had been sitting on a bus most of the day so when we got back to the hostel we went out on the town. Our goal was to walk all the way to the bay. Walking along the river we saw some awesome ships and boats and birds. Getting all the way to the bay was not as easy as it looked and we didn't make it all the way there. But we were satisfied with our walk along the river and we were getting hungry so we turned around to go find some dinner. While we ate our burgers and fries from a 50s style restaurant called Eddie Rocket's we discussed our plans for Saturday, our last day in Dublin. Trinity College, Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Guiness Storehouse, and The Leprechaun Museum were on the list of things to do. You may be thinking that's a lot to get done in one day. It was. And we did it all!

We started our day with breakfast at McDonald's. (I've had more McDonald's in the last week than I have had in the last year.) There wasn't much to see at Trinity College except a pretty campus with a nice park. Dublin Castle was a similar story. We opted to not take the tour but we were still able to take some great pictures from the outside and in the courtyard. St. Patrick's Cathedral was my favorite stop of the trip. The exterior was gorgeous and framed by a beautiful yard with a fountain. Inside was nice too. I'm passionate about my experience there because I settled in for some much needed prayer time and felt very refreshed afterward. From St. Patrick's Cathedral we mapped our way to the Guiness Storehouse. (nice segue eh?) Of all three pints of Guiness I've had in my life, the one I had from the Storehouse in Dublin was by far the best. With a nice little buzz, Levi, Mindy and I made our way to The Leprechaun Museum.

The tour of the Leprechaun Museum started with an introduction from a real Leprechaun. Okay.. he wasn't THAT short.. but still. The first order of business was to become Leprechauns ourselves so we walked through a tunnel and suddenly everything was huge! In my experiences as a Leprechaun I had to run and jump to get up onto the sofa. Also, I walked through a rainbow and found a pot of gold at the end. It was sweet!! The tour ended with coloring and story time led by a very tall Leprechaun. It was a very touristy museum....

Although I was looking forward to getting back to London, I was a little sad to be leaving Dublin. There was some sort of happy energy there. We were constantly cracking jokes, bursting into song, and laughing. Great memories.

Another Walk Along the Thames

On Saturday, March 27 I took my third walk alone along the river Thames. I have decided this has been one of my favorite things to do in London. This time I was playing with a brand new camera and I started on Southbank across the river from Parliament. After I took a few pictures from there I crossed the bridge to the Northern side of the river and began walking East. I re-took some pictures I had lost from my other camera and I finally found THE London Bridge. That's right. London Bridge. It really doesn't draw too much attention to itself. Many people seem to think the ever recognizable Tower Bridge is London Bridge. It's not. At some point as I was walking I heard some church bells going NUTS! I sat for five minutes listening to the bells. I was thinking "wow, it's going to sound really quiet when these bells stop ringing." They didn't stop ringing for several minutes after that and I started getting tired of hearing them so I moved on. I contacted my friends and decided to meet them at The National Portrait Gallery. The gallery was pretty cool. I tried to see if any of the people in the portraits look like people I know. I was fascinated by some of the detail in the paintings. I especially loved Queen Elizabeth I's dresses. Another portrait I had to almost stick my nose to so I could see that the buttons on the man's coat were, in fact, painted and not real.

I met Levi and Tiffany at Highgate station on Palm Sunday to go to Westminster Abbey. We went to a 3pm service. So far this trip many of the landmarks have been surprisingly lacking in wonderment. Big Ben and Stonehenge, for example, were not as monumental as we had expected them to be. Westminster Abbey was the opposite. I was in awe. It is SO BIG. I wont even try to explain it's beauty because it's impossible to put into words. When the choir started to sing at the beginning of the service they were out of sight. I looked around the Abbey expecting to see little creatures called Voices bouncing off the ceiling and walls. The sound was everywhere! Very refreshing.

Recovery

The Monday after Barcelona weekend we spent the first bit of class sharing our traveling experiences. Tiffany, Levi, and Mindy had gone to Rome and seen so many wonderful things. I was jealous and I hope to visit there someday. I shared my bad news from Barcelona, which was reciprocated by good news in the mail! My new Oyster pass (gets me around the city) had arrived after I had gone the week before without it. It had disappeared from my jacket pocket the previous Sunday. That afternoon we had British Life and Culture class with the whole AIFS group in an auditorium-like lecture room. I don't remember what this lecture was about. I remember the room was hot and sticky enough to be completely unable to focus, but too hot and sticky to take a nap. I tried to go to the Bank to get cash that day but I needed my passport for an ID. (my drivers license is somewhere in Barcelona)So on Tuesday I went to The Royal Bank of Scotland. (remember how much we LOVE Scotland!?) I was helped by a very friendly employee. He told me he would need to take my credit card to the back to call my bank. He warned me that sometimes these transactions are denied. After a few minutes he came back shaking his head. He sat down, looked at me and said "Sorry, it's been denied". I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. What am I going to do?? I opened my eyes to see him smiling at me, again shaking his head. "I'm just kidding. Let's get you your money." We were both laughing but I told him it was SO not funny. Finally with cash in my hands I could relax enough to start writing a three part blog about my experiences in Barcelona.

On Wednesday we took a walking tour around the Temple District of London. This is where all the lawyers hang out. I had to hijack Gillian's camera a few times to take pictures. I was having withdrawals.. my camera was still in Barcelona. (I know, I know.. I just still can't get over it.) That evening the 5 of us ate dinner together before going to a play called War Horse. It was basically a story about a boy and his horse and how their relationship survives World War Two. Their relationship reminded me of my dog, Lucy. I miss her!! This play is highly recommended. You wont believe how realistic the horses are. They're basically very complex puppets. The people controlling the horses are SO talented. The horses seemed so alive and full of character.

Finally on Friday I treated myself to a brand new camera. I actually like it a lot more than the old one.. so the mugging was a blessing in disguise?

Barcelona Part Three: When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Hobo Sangria

My mom's coworker has a son, Jeb, who we discovered would be traveling through Barcelona at the same time I was. Jeb and I contacted eachother and discussed how cool it would be for us to meet in Barcelona! We could take pictures together for our mommies to see. It would be great!
Friday night Jeb and I had plans to meet. After a pleasant nap, Gillian and I got ready to go out to Jeb's hotel then take him out for a good time in Barcelona. We invited our roomate, Kautchr, to come along. Kautchr is from Morracco. She was bored and hoping to find a dance club for us to go go. On our way out of the hostel we grabbed six meal voutchers for the Travel Bar nearby where we could get cheap meals with our drinks. When we met Jeb at his hotel he had two friends with him. Perfect! Six people total. At the Travel Bar we talked over dinner and learned of mutual friends we had in Iowa. After we ate and drank two jugs of sangria Jeb's friends decided to go back to their hotel. The 6 of us walked back to their hotel and then were on our way to show Jeb the awesome Picasso and Hemminway bar. With our cold hands in our coat pockets, Jeb and I were walking a few paces in front of Gillian and Kautchr. I was telling Jeb about my brother's concert we had seen the previous night and had started talking about Knox College Choir and how much I loved.....
Suddenly a group of a half dozen young men merged into us speaking a language we didn't understand. Thinking they were trying to offer us drugs or asking for money, Jeb put his hands up and said, "No thanks". One of the men separated Jeb and I. In a blink I went from feeling annoyed to feeling very nervous. A man in front of me said something quickly. When I didn't respond he grabbed my shoulder bag with both hands and ripped it off my body. "F***!" I exclaimed as I realized what was happening. The man ran with my bag up the street to the right and my first instinct was to run after him. I was chasing him up the street. He was 10 paces ahead of me. I saw him turn into an alley and by the time I got to it he was turning another corner. I turned around and saw Jeb, Gillian, and Kautchr arguing with some of the other men. I walked quickly toward the group and when I was close enough for them to hear my I said, "I need to go cancel my debit card right now!" Every important thing I had in my bag was racing through my brain. My debit card, my drivers liscence, my digital camera including MANY pictures I had not yet saved. The bag itself was a gift from a friend. It also withheld 70 Euros and two perfectly good tubes of chapstick. DAMN.
As we walked back toward our hostel to get online we discussed each of our perspectives on what had just happened. At the same time that my bag was stolen, Jeb was grabbed, tripped, and his camera was swiped from his coat pocket. Kautcha had been speaking to the men in Arabic, and the men seemed regretful for what their friends had done. Kautchr and Gillian went back to the scene to discuss the possibility of getting our things back while Jeb and I went to the hostel to contact my bank. Thank God my BFF David was online at the time. He called my mom and she immediately called the bank to cancel my debit card. (Thanks Dave! Thanks Mom!) Jeb and I were surprisingly calm and good humored about the incident. We were sad that our things were gone, but they are of course only material things. We were extremely thankful to have not been physically harmed in the incident. When Gillian and Kautchr returned they told us the men they spoke to were very helpful, yet skeptical about Gillian's presence. The only reason they were helpful was because Kautchr spoke to them in Arabic and told them she and Gillian had been friends for a long time. Our inference is that we were targeted to be mugged because we had been talking to eachother in English.
On Saturday morning over breakfast Gillian and I discussed our lack of enthusiasm about our last day in Barcelona. We decided to pack up, call a cab, and spend the day at the airport. We made hobo sangria (Fanta and cheap wine), played card games, read, napped, ate, and talked. We were at the airport from 11am to 8pm and had a great time. We could not wait to be back in London. PEACE OUT BARCELONA.

(I wish I had photos to share with you for the Barcelona series.)

p.s. I am now safely back in London, looking for a new camera, and figured out how to get cash with my credit card. Every little thing is gonna be alright.

Barcelona Part Two: Mi Familia!

The flight to Barcelona was short and smooth. Gillian and I passed through customs and got our passports stamped. No problems. In the main lobby of the airport we found a tourist information desk where we asked an employee for maps and directions to our hostel. Why did we expect our day to get any easier? I don't know. But when we were on the train "to our hostel" we discovered that we had again gone too far. We talked to a Spaniard on the train who spoke English and told us to get off at the next stop and turn around. "We're on our way out of Barcelona now" he said.
So we got off at that station and turned around. (sound familiar?) Since we really didn't understand how to use the metro line to get to our hostel, Gillian and I hailed a cab to drive us there. Our hostel was cozy and friendly. We walked to our room and I opened the door. The lights were off but the window shone some natural light into the room. "I think we're the only ones here" I said to Gillian. Then I heard someone snore. We walked quietly into the room to not disturb the three strange men sleeping at the other end of the room. Gillian and I cleaned ourselves up in the bathroom and decided to head toward my brother's concert early. We called a cab to take us to the street we knew we needed, but the concert hall was unknown to us. The fates like to play with Gillian and I because I was walking around the area thinking we were never going to find the right building to go into, given our track record that day. Then Gillian leads us into a building and I see a poster for KNOX COLLEGE CHOIR. Halleluja! Quinn's face was on the poster! Just then Laura Lane, the choir director, came into the building lobby. I had met Laura on numerous occasions and it was such a relief to see a familiar face. "Laura!!" I almost cried. She hugged me and led me by the hand to the church next door where the choir was about to rehearse and where the concert would begin in an hour. There he was. My brother. Mi familia! "Quinn!!" I almost cried again. BIG HUG
While the choir rehearsed Gillian and I found a nearby restaurant to grab some grub and some well deserved glasses of wine. We made it back to the church just in time for the choir to enter as we took the front-most seats which everyone else was avoiding. Subconsciously I sat directly in front of where I knew Quinn would be singing. I had seen many Knox concerts before and in recent years always sat in this location. After their opening song I looked at my brother while I applauded. I picked my jaw up off the floor in time to mouth the word "WOW" before he had to look back at Laura for the second song. When this song started I closed my eyes. It is easier to use all of my senses to listen when my eyes are closed and I am not distracted by light or movement or color. The music makes light, movement, and color on its own. Another of the songs later in the concert caused me to breathe with the music. It was like the music itself was actually providing life to my lungs.
After the concert Gillian and I joined the choir for dinner and bar hopping. One of the bars we went to used to be a favorite of Picasso and Hemingway. Walking into the bar was like stepping back in time 100 years. The whole wall on one side was a large, smokey mirror. The other walls were lined with shelves of dust-blanketed bottles. This was a fun night. I wish I could remember why.
On Friday morning Gillian and I woke up too late for the free breakfast at the hostel but we found a wonderful patisserie down the street. We learned an easy way to get to La Sagrada Familia via the metro. (I accidentally inserted a British pound into the ticket dispenser and it got stuck, but don't tell anyone!) La Sagrada Familia is a famous work of architecture by Gaudi which I really enjoyed seeing although it was under construction and surrounded by many tourists. I took pictures of the hidden bits of art on the building, the parts that perhaps go unnoticed if you're not looking closely enough. While walking through a park I paused to take a picture of two boys playing ping-pong. As we continued walking a group of young men was passing us and the last boy in the group jumped out in front of me. With threatening, wide eyes he hissed loudly at me then continued walking by. I stood frozen for a moment then asked Gillian if she still had her purse. We had been told by previous Barcelona travelers that the city is notorious for pickpocketing. We heard that they work in groups to make a distraction. Then as quickly as they came, they leave with all your stuff. We were both safe, but stressed. Ice cream helped to calm our nerves, followed by some deliciously cheesy Paella. We thought about finding the famous Gaudi park up the street but our feet were tired and the day was moving more quickly than we liked. We hailed another cab to take us to a different park nearer to or hostel. After exploring this park and taking many pictures of its magnificant fountain, we walked to the Pablo Picasso Museum.
The Picasso Museum led us through Pablo's artistic life. It was fascinating to see how his style transitioned. I loved being up close and personal with his work, close enough to see every stroke of his brush. After exploring the museum Gillian and I were tired and in need of a nap so we started back to our hostel. The street we took was packed with interesting shops and patisseries corner to corner. I could not wait to go back the next day to do some shopping. Shopping! I needed cash! Gillian and I both stopped to withdraw cash from an ATM before retiring to our beds for a rest.

You will not believe what happened next... (to be continued)

Barcelona Part One: Rollercoaster

At 5 am last Thursday morning I woke up packed for Barcelona. I walked to East Finchley to meet Gillian with a spring in my step. By noon I would be in Barcelona getting ready to spend the evening with my brother. Our problems started at the St. Pancras train station. The employee at the platforms told us to get on the train at platform 3. Five mintues into our ride our tickets were checked by the man who worked on the train and he told us we should have gotten on platform 2 to get to the airport. He told us we would have to get off the train at the first stop and turn around. "What time is your flight?" he asked. 10:25 and our gate closes at 9:55. "You're not going to make it". When we got off the wrong train and were waiting for the one that would take us back to the airport I called one of our AIFS supervisors. She told me not to worry because the gate doesn't actually close. Phwew. Already my day had me on a rollercoaster of stress levels, and it was only 8:30 in the morning. From the London Luton train station we had to get a shuttle bus to the airport which was said to only be about a 5 minute ride. I would have felt much more relaxed about this if we hadnt been waiting ON the bus for 10 mintues while our gate closing time came and went. By the time we got to the airport it was 10:00. Gillian and I ran up to security and paced around at the end of the line for about a minute until I couldn't wait any longer. I walked up the line and asked everyone if it was okay for us to pass since our plane was to take off in 20 minutes. Thankfully everyone was okay to let us by. Security was smooth. The next frustration was the gate. Our boarding passes didn't say what gate we were to board at. Gillian and I stood at the departures board with our jackets and toiletries baggies clutched to our chests looking dumbfounded. We couldnt find our flight number on the departures board. Gillian waved over an airport employee to help us. We told him our flight number and he looked at the board and said "Hmm Gate 17, final boarding call. You better run." I dont remember if either of us thanked the man because we bolted. I dropped my baggie of toiletries as I ran and the travel-sized bottle of dove body wash flew out in front of me. I used my Jedi mind powers to get it back in my hands and continued to run. When we finally saw the sign for Gate 17 it had an arrow pointing down. WHAT?! Oh.. down those stairs around the corner. Hearts racing, we arrived at the bottom of the stairs at the end of a line 20 people deep. "Is this the line for the flight to Barcelona?" I asked the man in front of me. YES. It was. Gillian and I collapsed on the stairs and heaved sighs of relief. We were going to make it to Barcelona on time!!!

More entertainment for you

This is a story I wrote for creative writing class. It is not a true story, but it very well could be.

My gloveless,  frozen fingers reached out to push the garage door button. The door closed loudly as I walked inside my cozy house. I had been dreaming of this moment since I left the house before dawn this morning. The moment that Lucy, my Goldendoodle, would greet me at the door. She never fails to make me feel loved  upon my homecoming. Today, however, was a different story. There was no tail waving valiantly like a flag attached to a shaggy animal bounding toward me. There was no sticky, wet sensation of her warm tongue against my cold cheek. No. Only silence. A silence that let me to believe that something was terribly wrong. Before I turned on the light I noticed a peculiar smell was dominating my senses. I braced myself., closed my eyes tightly, and switched the light on. I opened my eyes one at a time. Oh no. Just before me on the floor was a large Pappa John’s pizza box that had been completely ripped to shreds. I looked on and saw the foil tin from a microwave lasagna dinner that I had crumpled up and thrown away was now in its original form and licked clean. Nearby, a used coffee filter lay. It looked innocent compared to slimy brown smears that now defaced my once flawless white kitchen tile. Chocolate pudding would make for a delightful finger painting project. Lucy’s paintings were not delightful, however, because a chocolate paw print is not cute when it is made of rotten pudding and coffee grounds. Now I needed to get across the kitchen without ruining a work of art. I began to tip-toe across the tile as if I expected to step on a land mine. One small step to avoid a banana peel, one giant leap to dodge the disturbed garbage can. From here I can see large, fudgy prints leading me to where I would find Lucy. Before I pursued her, I turned back to have another look at the damage. Where I used to see my glitteringly clean kitchen I now saw a disaster zone. “Deep breath” the angel on my shoulder tells me. “Kill her!” the devil on the opposite says. I follow the trail into my bedroom. I took the angel’s advise and breathed a sigh of relief. Lucy had not destroyed anything but the carpet. There on the floor she laid on her back, feet in the air, and sound asleep. Oblivious to the fact that I was present. I could have stomped toward her, picked her up by her fur and thrown her outside. But there was something about the way  she snored and wagged her tail as she dreamed that calmed the storm of anger inside of me. As I turned to go clean up her mess, I thought, “I’ll get the pizza crust out of her mouth later.”

A funny story to tie you over until the next real blog:

I was on my way to see Mama Mia! at Leister square and it had been a long day. There is a widely known rule here about escalator etiquitte. If you're going to stand and ride the escalator, you stand on the right side so the people who prefer to walk up can pass on the left. Although I was exhausted, I opted to walk up the escalator at Leister Square Station. Have you ever tripped up the stairs before? Of course, we all have. You know how sometimes it takes two or three extra trips to recover from the first one? Well, that's what happened. I tripped up one of the steps and as I was tripping to try to get back up, some guy standing behind me was obviously feeling my pain. "Ooh Whoah!" he exclaimed. Then when I continued walking up the steps he yelled, "Nice recovery!". I was too embarassed to turn back and thank him for the compliment.

The Fountain of Youth

On Thursday, March 4th at 3pm I was part of a group of 29 AIFS students gathered at Kings Cross Station with suitcases and backpacks. We made our way through the station (no, we did not see platform 9 3/4) and got on the train. After only a few minutes of settling into our seats I looked around at all the other people who were looking around and asking "Are we moving?". I saw the train next to us out the window and I said, "no I think that train is moving" but I was wrong. We had begun to pull out of the station. It felt awkward because our section of seats were facing the back of the train. The train ride was fairly smooth but it took some time to adjust to the backwards-ness. The sun set somewhere between London and Edinburgh but I didn't notice because Gillian and I were enthralled in our games of Go Fish and Garbage. Upon arrival in Edinburgh (pronounced kind of like Ed-In-Bra) we had to climb the stairs out of the train station and then climb a steep pathway up toward our hostel. My night in Edinburgh was spent celebrating Levi's 20th birthday and Gillian showing me around her favorite places because she had been there before.

In the morning we gathered our belongings and waiting outside our hostel was a fluorescent yellow bus that said, "Haggis Adventures: WILD AND SEXY". Yes, this bus was to be our home for the next three days as our WILD AND SEXY tour guide, Dan, drove us around Scotland. On Friday we saw the Doune Castle, The William Wallace Memorial, and we toured the Ben Nivis whiskey distillery. The Doune Castle was featured in the ever-popular and hilarious Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I climbed up part of the William Wallace Memorial because.. I do things like that. The whiskey distillery smelled like a burning wheat field, and the whiskey tasted the same. We spent that night in a hostel called Morag's which is located at the southern tip of Loch Ness. We learned how to tie a Scottish Tartan (kilt) and we tried them on and had a tartan party. (if you see pictures of this event, I will stress to you that I was NOT DRUNK. I was just having a good time.)

On Saturday we drove up into the Isle of Skye and walked around the Eilean Donan Castle. This is "the sexiest castle in Scotland" according to Sexy Dan. Other than being sexy, it was also featured in the movie Made of Honor. (yes Ladies, I walked the same ground as McDreamy) Also on Saturday we stopped at a mysterious bridge and Dan told us that we needed to become completely committed to him at that moment. He took us down to the stream below the bridge and we heard a legend told by the bus driver of the other Haggis bus we were touring with. According to legend, the most beautiful princess was on her way to the church on her wedding day when her face was severely injured by her horse. She was dumped at the alter because she was no longer beautiful. She sat alone at that bridge crying until a fairy told her that this stream would restore her beauty ten fold and her beauty would last forever if she stuck her face in the water for seven seconds. She did and her beauty was restored. Later on the prince who she was supposed to marry asked again for her hand, and she said no. Supposedly she lives today, 800 years old and still quite sexy. The tour guides told us that we were not allowed back on the bus until we were all thoroughly sexy. Seven seconds with my face under the freezing cold stream was SO WORTH IT! Later that day we stopped at a good hiking point. From this high point in Skye we could see the mainland of Scotland. I had to pause for a good few minutes to take in the scenery. It was probably the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. I had a hard time coming down from the hike because I knew I would probably never see it again. Cest La Vie.

We stayed the night in the Isle of Skye at a hostel called Saucy Mary's. And boy did we get sauced! (details not necessary) I recovered well enough to be out of my room by 7am Sunday morning to catch the sunrise. It was a very cold, windy morning and of course the wind was coming from the east. I stood on the dock facing the wind for a half hour. Tears rolling down my cheeks from the breeze, I finally saw the sun peek through the mountains and show his reflection on the water. It was worth the wait.

All day long I felt connected to the sun in a way I never have before. I felt like I had learned one of God's secret recipes. We visited Loch Ness and heard marvelous legends about Nessie. ( I really do believe in Loch Ness monsters.. yes, there are more than one) The sun was bright and warm over the Loch. We made our way back to Edinburgh to get on the train back to London. Down in the station I paused to take a picture of the sun setting through one of the station entrances. It was a bittersweet goodbye.

Happy Sundae

Last Monday we had a lecture by our British Life and Culture instructor, the infamous Bob Craig. He is number one on everyone's list of 60 year old, sexy Englishmen. We all hang on his every word for each lecture and tour he provides for us. This lecture was especially intriguing because it was about London at war. Most of my lecture notes are lists of dates and events which are quite boring to go over and review although I am glad to have learned them. The bits of my notes that draw my attention are where I wrote down some of the stories Bob told us of how people such as his own parents lived during WWII. Bob himself was a young boy when they were still using ration books in London after the war. He told us about how his sister would use his ration books for extra candy.

We learned about "Doodlebugs" which were the German V1 flying bombs that targeted London in 1944. 2300 of them fell in London and killed over 6000 people. These bombs were terrifying to Londoners because they could hear if a Doodlebug was coming, and they would pray it would keep flying passed them. Bob Craig told us that according to his mother, if you could hear the motor cut out you had about ten seconds to say goodbye to life because the bomb was on its way down. She also said, however, that during the Blitz (Sep. 1940-May1941) she lived every day on adrenaline and life was more exciting. Certainly the colors were brighter because every moment was lived as if it could be the last.

Dr. Hubbard gave us a miniature scavenger hunt for the Imperial War Museum to be completed by Friday morning. I knew that I wanted to spend a lot of time at the museum to soak things in but the week wasn't going to provide me with that kind of freedom. I went with Mindy to the museum for about an hour on Thursday afternoon just to get the thing done which got me excited to go back for a more intimate exploration. Gillian and I went together on Sunday and discovered a lot of wonderful things. One area of the museum was dedicated to the children of war. I had some emotional thoughts here because I am so passionate about children and their need for security.It was heart-wrenching for me to hear about the evacuation of children during the war. I pictured them having to leave London and be shipped out to some unknown destination. They didn't know if they would ever see their parents again. I work with children and I have family members with young children so it broke my heart to imagine any of them having to experience that. There was also a life-sized model of a WWI trench that we walked through. The only light in the "trench" came from some lanterns that were hung along the trench walls. The ceiling of the room was painted black and it made the experience seem like being in a trench at night. There were wax soldiers around talking war strategies with each other. I could really place myself there and feel the anxiety. We also walked through a model house made to represent a WWII era house in Europe. Near this model was an example of an Anderson Shelter which was commonly set up in the back gardens of these houses. (see picture above) Bob had told us in the lecture that these shelters were strong enough to protect someone inside from anything but a direct hit. Gill and I walked toward the shelter behind a mother and her two children and I heard the woman say, "we used to have one of these in our backyard." Her comment caused me to rewind and update my perspective on everything. This museum documents the history of her own life and family. The very ground they have walked on their whole lives was once in complete ruin. Their parents and grandparents lived daily in fear and surely she grew up hearing of their first-hand experiences with war.

I would love to be able to describe for you my intimate walk through the Holocaust museum, but I can't. I could make it my challenge to walk through that exhibit for a third time and try to figure out how I can express to all of you how it makes me feel, but I wont. I will tell you one thing I learned about Hitler that rocked my world. Hitler formulated WWII to be a distraction from his ultimate plan. He had the world so focused on the stage that no one thought to check out what was going on behind the curtain.

I spent my evening in solitude, even while enjoying the company of my friends at O'Neills. Generally Sundays are the days of the week when I feel refreshed, recharged, and ready to take on the week ahead. The Holocaust museum exhausted me. Thank God for the late night O'Neills ice cream Sundae that turned my attitude around and reminded me that life goes on.

Nutella and Pinot Grigio

Oh my how the time does fly. A whole week since my last blog update and it feels like yesterday. Now I am a bit overwhelmed with important and unimportant things that I feel I should share about the last seven days. Here are a few bullet points of the less important things:
- I tried Hot Cross Buns for the first time. I am not a fan, as they taste like Christmas-scented candles.
- I found Nutella at the store and became quite obsessed. Hazelnut and chocolate were a match made in heaven.
- I was having some chill time last week while listening to my iPod's "chill time" playlist. For whatever reason I began to think about my previous travels and when my mind traveled back to Hawaii the song changed to "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". The Israel Kamakawiwo'ole version. Great timing!
- I purchased airline tickets and hostel reservations for traveling to Barcelona and Ireland. :D
-Gillian and I shared two bottles of wine one night and had some wonderfully open conversations.

The picture that goes with this blog is what I am looking at right now.

Quarter Eleven

Saturday morning after a refreshing shower and a round of bathroom cleaning, I headed out of the house with no sure plan as to what I would do. I called Levi to see what he was up to and he told me that he had just visited Parlaiment with Mindy and Tiffany. This sounded like a great idea. It was a nice day so I decided to walk to the tube station instead of taking the bus. I got off the tube at Westminster. I found on my map the direction I needed to go to find Parlaiment and when I looked up, Big Ben said, "Hey, idiot, I'm right here!" He chimed boldly at quarter past eleven. I walked around Parlaiment and passed Westminster Abbey. I cant wait to attend a service there! It was another very bright, sunny morning which made taking pictures somewhat difficult from my angle. I was meeting Gillian halfway across the city at one, so I decided to walk along the River Thames to get there. I waited at The Tower of London for about an hour because Gillian's tubes were having signal problems, and she just has a habit of being late. (sorry, dear. but it is true) I noticed there seemed to be a lot of tourists at the Tower, and by the time Gillian arrived we deiced food was more important that fighting off tourists for a guided tour through the Tower. We ate at the Tower Diner. Mmm. Best pizza I have ever had. On our way out of the diner Gillian caught her first glimpse of The London Bridge and almost cried. We walked along the Thames for a whie, taking pictures, and talking about how much we love London. We met with Levi and I took them on my "pilgrimage" walk. Then they went shopping and I went home to do homework.

Sunday afternoon I was riding on the top of a classic red double decker for the first time. It was a much better view of the architecture that stands above the modern shops. I noticed from this elevation that the street lights turn yellow between red and green both ways. My destination was to get to Tottenham Court Road for church. I heard that Hillsong Church had services in central London so I knew I had to go. When I got to TCR all I knew was that I was looking for the Dominion Theater. I stopped in the original YMCA building to ask a staff member where I could find it. He said "It's right around the corner. The building with the big gold statue." Big gold statue? That's where the musical We Will Rock You is playing. Surely they're not having church services there. Wrong. The theater is rented by Hillsong one day a week, while the other six days are dedicated to showing headlinging musicals. More than 1,000 volunteers from the Hillsong congregation set up all the lights and sound equipment every week! They also volunteer as hosts for visiters. The music was loud and inviting. Even though I didnt know the songs they were familiar and easy to follow along. I loved the atmosphere and I felt welcomed enough to try to get involved with their connect groups while I am in London.

Stonehenge and Salisbury

Last Friday we hopped on a charter bus in central London at 8:45am and two hours later we pulled up to Stonehenge. It was not as large and majestic as I had expected it to be, but the value of the monument was still powerful. Some sort of spiritual rightness ebbed from the stones. It created a pure joy in each of us which provided for lots of laughter. We are so lucky that the day was bright and sunny with gorgeous, heavenly clouds which provided for some great pictures. We didn't spend too much time at Stonehenge because we would be spending our afternoon at Salisbury. I urge you to research a little bit about the town of Salisbury. Very interesting. The most significant part of Salisbury is the magnificant cathedral. The architecture inside and out could make anyone believe there is a God. My neck was sore after spending the whole afternoon looking up. Some of the noteable things in Salisbury Cathedral were the tombs for significant people. One of the men buried there had the most interesting story. He had been a soldier fighting abroad while his wife was getting involved with another man. The soldier's ship was lost at sea and the woman grievingly broke things off with her lover. A time later her husband shows up alive and well, and the whole town has a celebration for him. Two days later he died. Years after he was buried in Salisbury Cathedral his body was examined for cause of death. He had been poisoned. (sneaky wife, eh?) Sidenote.. they also found a rat in his skull that had eaten the soldiers brain and been poisened. The rat is in the Salisbury museum. (I forgot to go see it, shame on me) Another thing I must mention about Salisbury Cathedral is the beautiful stained glass windows. One of the windows was dedicated to one of my favorite Bible passages about the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) And the main window in the back was just gorgeous. Lots of blues and greens. I bought a cross necklace in the shop that has blue and green glass on it. Definetly a keepsake that will remind me of an important time in my life. I hope that my children's children will be able to visit Salisbury Cathedral, but I would pray that they wouldnt get crushed. Our guide showed us that the four main columns in the center of the church are bowing out. Yikes!