If You're Bored of London, You're Bored of Life!

Well the last 2 weeks of Study Abroad have come and gone. I apologize for not keeping up on the blog, but there was honestly no time to write up any posts. Well I did finally find the Imperial War museum and it was incredible! I wish I had more time there. This is a piece of the Berlin Wall outside of the museum.

From Monday July 30th through Sunday August 5th, we were on our north trip in Scotland. On our way up, we spent a day and a night in the beautiful Lake District. We got to eat lamb stew and recite poetry at Dove Cottage where Wordsworth moved to in 1799 with his sister. He wrote much of his greatest poetry in Lake District, including my favorite, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud. We also had the amazing opportunity to work with original letters written by Wordsworth and his family. Original documents give so much more insight than a copy can. You can tell how fast it was written, how much pressure they put on the paper, and what the handwriting was like. It was an incredible experience that I'll never forget.

We also spent three days in Edinburgh Scotland during the Edinburgh festival. There were street performers, magicians, musicians, actors, and artists crowded on the Royal Mile giving the public a taste of what they live for. While in Edinburgh, I went to a 'psychic circus' show, a silent play, a haunted graveyard tour, Edinburgh castle, and the Tattoo military band show. I have never heard so many bagpipes playing at once and it was beautiful! They even played music from Disney Pixar's Brave. I also found my family clan's tartan pattern and call me crazy, I tried some haggis. It tasted fine, but the texture was way too mushy!

Once we returned from our trip, I was happy to get back in London and stop living out of a backpack. It was finals week, so there was much last minute studying and papers to complete. I did get time to take a tour through Buckingham Palace-the Queen definitely lives in nothing less than luxury! After the dreaded finals were done with, we saw a non traditional version of Julius Caesar,set in Africa. Then after the play a group of us headed over to the London eye. The view was incredible and it was really cool to see it all lit up at night.

On my last night in London, I went to my favorite take out place Taza's, and got a final meal of lamb and rice kebab. I'm going to miss that place! And I'm sure they'll miss our business...

Then me, Ashley, and Ashley's friend Amy, who just came up to London, went and saw Wicked. We started out on the tube 20 minutes before the show, not knowing which theatre it was at, if there would even be seats left, and we knew Amy didn't have a student card so it would be twice as much money for her ticket. In the end, a woman showed us where the theatre was, there were seats left, and Amy even got the student discount. Prayers really are answered and miracles do happen! The costumes, the stage set, the acting and music were all spectacular and mind-blowing! After the show, we were talking to some police officers (just giving them cookies-we weren't in trouble I promise!) and one of them said "If you're bored of London, you're bored of life". I agree wholeheartedly with that statement.

In the morning, there were many goodbyes. I was one of the last to leave the centre, and by the time I left for the airport, it was so empty and eerie feeling. It was great to be in London, but what truly made it great was the people I shared the experience with. Fortunately, most of us go to school in Utah, so the goodbyes are not definite. For those who don't go to Utah, we have Facebook and texting to stay connected. Before I left, I walked down Bayswater by myself to Kensington Gardens to give it my final goodbye. I sat on a bench and talked with a middle-aged woman from Sweden. She's a well traveled police officer and she came to London for some work stuff. It was nice chatting with her and talking about London. After a 10 1/2 hour flight, complete with screaming babies, I was warmly welcomed home by my family and a classic Arizona haboob. So that's it! 7 weeks have flown by as fast as some of those Olympic runners. I've made some really close friendships, I learned a lot of British history, and a lot about myself. Only time will tell how much of an impact this has all had on my life, but I know that I'll never be the same. London really became a home to me. I already miss my friends, the beautiful buildings, and even the smelly tube! I think London will always be calling me. But for now, it's going to have to be a long distance relationship! I'll be fine though- I brought back 1500 pictures and plenty of chocolate :)