Murrrrrrrrrdock's the Name!

Hello! Alright so on Thursday, I did a lot of homework because there is so much reading to be done and so little time! To take a break from it all, my fellow study abroader Shelby and I decided to go to Hyde park and 'hire' (rent) a bike and take a ride around the park. After fighting with the ticket machine, we finally got our tickets (for a pound) and you type in your code on the bike lock and get your bike. Simple? I think not!! Neither of our codes were working and I finally asked a nice British couple to help me out. Naturally they got the bike out with no effort. So I figured the bike locks only respond to the British touch. Wrong! After trying over and over and having outside assistance, Shelby could never get her bike out! We found out after 10 minutes the code expires. So I slowly rode my bike and Shelby walked along with me for about 10 minutes and then I put the bike back. We figure the machine gave her a faulty code. So we had a pretty good laugh about! On Friday, we visited the Tower of London. It actually wasn't quite what I was expecting. I though it would be a lot creepier than it was. Most of the original tower isn't even there. There were certainly a lot of crows! And it was cold, windy, and rainy. I don't think I've ever been that cold in June!

Alright then we arrive at today. Today was an especially adventurous day. We started it out at Burouh market. Burouh market is a beautiful little gem nestled by the Themes. They had amazing hot chocolate, fresh fruit, cheesecakes, the best toasties (grilled cheese sandwiches) on the planet, pies, turkish delight, and the biggest pile of brownies I had ever seen! Sorry the picture turned out strange. Me and Kristina were just glowing with joy over the brownies I guess.

After the Burouh market, we explored the Tate Modern museum and we had to find a work in a specific gallery that 'speaks' to us. I chose 'The Promise" by Cecil Collins. Look it up sometime if you get a chance. I really liked the message it had. Then we walked along Millennium bridge (the one in Harry Potter 5 I believe that gets ripped up as Harry and the gang are being pursued by death eaters) and wondered to St. Paul's Cathedral. Oh and for clarification, when I say 'we' I mean Ashley, Christina, Kristina, and Valerie-all wonderful friends I have met on this trip. There are public pianos just sitting out in London for people to play, so we sat down and all took a turn playing. Well as we are sitting, out of nowhere pops up this old Irish man (see picture above). He begins just rambling and asking us where we are from. I tell him Arizona and he was off. For about ONE HOUR he talked about everything under the moon-John Wayne, his brother who served in Korea, how Obama's mother is Irish (I don't even know if that's true!), how Ashley was wearing Confederate flag colors, what women's conversations were like in the Great Depression, why the Big Apple is called the Big Apple!!! He also went through all of our family names and what famous person he knows has our last name. He told me to look up the composer "Henry Wood" and see if I was related to him. He even at one point sat down and played us "Dixie" on his harmonica. He gave us 10 pounds so we could go get us some ice cream but when he wasn't looking we put it back with his stuff because that was just too nice of him! Before we left, I got this picture with him and before it was taken, he grabbed my hand and asked if I was engaged yet. He then took a picture of us with his little disposable camera so he could 'send it to us' and he wrote down his number and gave it to me because I apparently was 'the chosen one' in this little situation. So I guess I can say I got an Irishman's number! He kept telling us how amazing we were and how British people are so reserved- that it was really nice to talk to some 'outgoing' Americans. I noticed we were getting pity looks from passerby's, but honestly this man just wanted someone to talk to. I got the impression that people around town just simply ignore him or walk away. He really was hilarious and yes, he was sober! He just had a bit more energy than most people. He said he hopes to see us again someday-specifically next week. I'm pretty sure that won't happen, but he said multiple times that we really 'made his day'. I'll never forget our friend at St. Paul's! Oh and I asked him what his name was and he said "Murrrrrrrrrrdock's the name! Murrrrrrdock!!" in his Irish accent. We also went to King's Cross and got our classic 'Platform 9 and three quarters' pic. I'll have to get all my other pics on Facebook when I have more time. For dinner today we went to Waggamama's, which is a great Japanese/oriental restaurant. Delicious!

So I go jogging regularly at 6:30 through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park for exercise. Every time I go, I take my camera with me. Why? Because the more you visit and become familiar with a place, the more you notice little things. So every time I go jogging, I see peculiar or interesting things and snap a photo. I've seen swimmers in the river, a couple dozen men having hoarse riding practice, people practicing self defense, many a squirrels,and flowers, and other cool stuff. The other day, I entered the park and this wine glass was just sitting on the ground with what looked like champagne or white wine in it (sorry, I don't really know my alcoholic beverages-actually, I'm not sorry...). It just made me wonder who left it there and why. Did they just simply forget it? Did they have a romantic evening planned and then something unexpected came up and they had to abandon their plans? I'll never know, but it's fun to wonder.

Lastly, before our friend Murrrrdock came along, there was a group of girl scouts practicing certification outside St. Paul's. I took this picture as the girls were practicing an arm bandage on their leader. I just love the expression on all their faces! They seemed to be having such a good time. I like just taking pictures of every day life here in London now and then. Call me creepy, but its real and it's not a staged photograph-the people are so wrapped up in the moment that they don't even notice if anyone around is watching. Those are the best moments- when everything around you just melts away and all that matters are the people you are sharing it with. I really have fallen in love with London and I'm enjoying every moment! Let the good times roll!

Goings on

Hey hey!! Sorry I haven't updated much! The internet connection here just stinks so I have limited internet access. I'd love to upload photos too but it's not strong enough so I'm going to have to find somewhere that has good wifi....So I face

book befriended everyone in the program and other people's blogs are called London Calling too! And I thought I was original... By the way it takes about 5 minutes to upload one picture so I only had time for a couple (don't ask why I chose these two). The first one is my bunk bed (where I crash every night) and the second is some of the crazy street art we found. And I'm blog challenged so I apologize for typos and the awkward placement of things! Ok so here's a run through of what's been goin down in the great city of London! Sunday church was great-once we found the church. We took the tube and then a train, but were given terrible directions so we wandered for about a half hour and finally found it. I have been called to serve in the Young Women's in the Wandsworth Ward! I'm excited to get started and to meet the girls this sunday. It's a very ethnically diverse ward- there are 7 different countries represented! Many of the people are from Gana, including the bishop. Monday was an interesting day....So we had classes in the morning and then me, Ashley, and Aubrey went to "Mr. Fish" and got some fish and chips, cuz that's part of the London experience, right? Well it was yummy and I went about my day and I was at the Whiteley's mall with some people on I think Queensway street and I suddenly felt terrible. Like I was ready to throw up, so I booked it to the nearest rest room and I walk in and all the stalls have red on the handles- in America you think that means 'occupied' right? So there's a lady standing there and I was like "Are they ALL full? I gotta get in there!" and she mumbled something under her breath and then I threw up in front of her and then she finally helps me out and opens one of the doors for me!! Ironically she was a janitor, so she cleaned it up...if this is t.m.i, then just skip to the next paragraph (it don't get better..)! So I threw up the devil fish and chips a couple times, went back out into the mall and the group had left. I knew they would be worrying about me so I headed out for home. Well as I'm walking the streets I realize I'm not going to make it and I need to throw up again.... SO I ran into the nearest Pizza Hut, asked for a bathroom, the lady told me it was called the "toilet", I then wanted to throw up on her, but refrained and proceeded to the so called 'toilet'. When I was done there, I headed up Moscow road hoping I could make it home, and yet again it hit and I ran into the "Phoenix" pub, properly asked for a 'toilet' and threw up again. I pretty much wanted to die at this point and wished all fish would die...I finally made it to the London Center and Dr. Jacoby and the group were all worried and ready to call the police! It was really nice of them to care and worry so much. So I lied down and took a nap and prayed I would feel better when I got up. Miraculously, I did and I was able to go to St. Paul's cathedral and hear the London Symphony orchestra and choir play a 90 minute mass and it was the best thing everrrrrr!! A lot of people were falling asleep or were bored, but I loved every minute of it. So it was a great way to end a not so great day! Tuesday I did homework all morning and then went to Hackney (a sketchier part of London) with a girl in the group. She is so cool!! She's been traveling around London for 3 weeks already on her own and she knew the tube as well as the Brits!! We went downtown and took pictures of street art graffiti-not gang graffiti, but street art. It was very cool and it was nice to see something not touristy- just something created by the locals. Then that night we saw Henry the V at the Globe theatre. We had commoner peasant seating, meaning we stood for the whole 3 hours!! It also rained on us a little (the theatre has no roof). It was a really good play and I quite enjoyed it. Today we got on the bus and went to the Dover castle. We got to explore it and take a tour through the secret underground war tunnels used in World War II. They have been kept a secret up until the 90s!! Then we saw the white cliffs of Dover which were beautiful and treacherous (no railings...they simply warn you if you step off, you're dead). Then we made our pilgrimage to Canterbury and toured the cathedral were Thomas Beckett was murdered. The archbishop who married Will and Kate was even there, which is pretty rare (we were all taking pictures of him secretly). Anyway I gotta get to bed, but I'm lovin my time here and I look forward to more adventures and learning experiences! And I am steering clear of fish and chips for the.rest.of.my.life.

The Arrival

Ahh so I am finally in London!! Just some general background for anyone who doesn't know; I'm doing a 7 week Study Abroad program for BYU. I will be taking a British literature and British history class and a one credit 'London walks' class. I will also serve in a family ward. So my journey in a nutshell-the plane left SkyHarbor an hour late; at 8:30. I sat by a nice Indian couple on what I assumed their family vacation. I sat by the husband and he snored quite a bit....but regardless of the discomfort I got quite a bit of sleep, probably because I had a crazy night before takeoff, but that's a different story...And they do not force you to go to the bathroom TJ! Oh ya and the TSA lady said I looked like I was 12 years old!! But hey, it's better than looking 12+50 right? After getting passed the terrifying customs lady in Heathrow I found my way to the express train and rode that to Paddington station. I then 'emerged from the underground' and asked a nice man in a leather shop which way was East (it was cloudy so I couldn't tell the old school way) and I found the London Center! I am staying on the 4th floor (hello stairs)on a bottom bunk. We just barely had a devotional by a bishop in the stake and went over the plans for the week and our ward assignments for tomorrow. Everyone seems really nice and I'm excited to get to know my fellow study abroaders. I'm so excited to start this adventure. I hope to fall in love with the city, learn about its history in depth, and perhaps even more importantly, learn more about myself and what I am capable of doing. I believe new experiences bring out new facets of your personality that you never knew existed, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Well that's enough for now! I think I'm going to shower and then go to bed! I'm jet lagged and deleeeeriouss!! Oh and I would post some pictures that I took but the internet connection no es bueno so it won't let me!