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?