I can tell that I am finally feeling settled and comfortable here in London....rather than having to tell myself that the days have been good, they just actually are. A large part of that (I think) is founding a good friend in a girl in my program named Val. Yesterday was her birthday, so we did a bunch of random fun stuff to try and make it special over here. She's been looking for a coat, so we spend the first part of the afternoon doing that (she found one! Woo hoo!). After that, we made our way out to Kew to go and see the botanical gardens there. Unfortunately we got there when there was only an hour left for it to be open, and it cost something like £13 to get in. So, we walked around the town a little bit and then headed back home. The town was absolutely charming...although technically still in London, it felt nothing like the city. There was an inner peace discernible from every corner of the town and I would definitely chose to live in that part of London.
We got back from Kew and Val's roommates had cooked up a tremendous Italian dinner for her. It was spectacular and delicious; a feast for both the eye and the palate. After that cake, and then to a sports bar to watch the Colts/Broncos game. It was just a really great day with really great people and was really a lot of fun.
On our way to Kew, we found out a water main broke outside of our apartment. It actually flooded a bit of the girls' room in the bottom flat, and ultimately caused our water to be shut off. Val's roommates actually made the entire meal w/o running water, substituting bottled water from the store where necessary (which makes the feast all the more impressive). We didn't know when it was going to come back on, so I took my toothbrush to the bar where we watched the game (and went the bathroom about a hundred times...I just didn't know when we were going to have water!). Fortunately it was back on this morning, so no more worries. :)
That's all I have for now except for two things: 1) church yesterday was amazing. I loved it. It was at the simple little church near my house, but they did it up right with an amazing organ, a children's choir, traditional hymns and lots of lovin' for the big guy. 2) My friend Andrew and I are going to Brussels this weekend. I had a minor freak out last night/ this morning realizing that there are only so many weekends left here and I haven't really taken advantage of the travel mecca that London is. So, I had a moment with a spreadsheet and a few search engines to figure out where to go and when, and here we are! Woo hoo to a weekend of chocolate and waffles. :)
Day Three Hundred and Sixty-Five: Resolution
14 years ago
