Home ---to the place where I belong (?)

This will be my last official post. I made it back safely to the states last Saturday, and I apologize for not updating sooner to just let you know I was home. The trip went smoothly and although I didn't get back to Iowa as planned, I have amazing friends who have I didn't realize I missed so much until I saw them again.

It's nice to be back, but it is taking a little bit of adjustment to get used to things here. I've tried to walk in the left side of doorways, or pass people on the left. Going to Target--something I used to love-- was quite painful for me on Monday for reasons I can't really explain, (in fact, the more i go on, writing this blog entry is very hard) so being back in the states will take some getting used to. Fortunately I have a lot of friends who studied abroad who understand and can help me through this period.

I'll always want to reminisce about London, so if you ever make a trip over there and need suggestions of things to do, drop me a line and I'll do my best to help you out.

Cheers, London....

You can't stop the beat

As it's getting closer to the time to go home, I find it harder and harder to tear myself away from London. It really is the most fantastic city in the whole world. I can't believe I was lucky enough to be here for four months, and I can't believe it's time to go home already. I feel I'm literally going to have to rip my heart away from here...the ride home is going to be great, but tough.

Hairspray was great. I didn't think the actors were all that amazing, but the story and the music itself are just wonderful, so I can't complain. The tree lighting was fun...kind of anti-climactic (and if you think about it, how dramatic can flipping a switch on really be?), but they had the Salvation Army band there who played Christmas carols and everyone sang along. It was great. I didn't get to stand by my friends during the lighting b/c I got there so late after Hairspray, but we met up afterwards for a nice dinner in a cozy little Italian restaurant where the pesto was fantastic.

It's the first day in a while that I've woken up and it hasn't been raining, so I'm going to go running and say goodbye to my beloved Russell Square jogging path. Hopefully after that I'm going to make it over to the Tate to see the giant crack that runs the floor in there (I'll explain later), meet up with Andrew for lunch, do whatever with Val (probably shopping), dinner with the roommates, and out with everyone for the evening.

The car comes for me at 7:30 tomorrow morning, so it's quite possible I won't update anymore until I'm back in the states. But, as my previous post reveals, that may take a while. Please pray I don't get stuck in Philly...that would be a terrible end to a fantastic couple of months. But, pending everything goes as planned, I'll arrive in Kansas City at 9:04 p.m. Central standard time on Saturday night.

Adventures in London: Hopefully. Adventures in the Philadelphia airport: Hopefully Not.

Apparently there is a really large snow/ice storm system brewing and set to land upon Kansas City and Des Moines on Saturday. And not only is supposed to snow/sleet/ice/rain on Saturday, but for Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, too. That means I could be stuck in the Philadelphia airport, and stuck there for 5 days. And think about it...by the time a 5 DAY system moves out of the mid-west, it will hit Philly, and I may be stuck there not because the conditions at home are bad, but b/c we're unable to take off from Philly. Not only would I be unable to go home, I'd miss several things in Lawrence I really needed to be back for. I called USAir to see if I could change my flight to tomorrow and possibly avoid all this. On top of the $200 change fee, they want to charge me $800 to change my flight. I looked online at a new ticket...and it only costs $440. Another thing to put that ridiculous charge in perspective-- my round trip ticket from KCI to London and back again only cost $750...including travel insurance. They wanted to charge me $1,000 to change a flight I already had. Ridiculous.

Sara left me a comment about having adventures in London my last few days here...and I'm certainly going to make the most of it. I just hope those adventures come in terms of sleeping on an airport floor for a long time.

T-minus 3 days

Finals are done! yippiee!! I 'm not sure I've EVER been so exhausted. I studied my little patooty off so that hopefully all my grades will be good and will demonstrate that since I worked hard and earned "As"(hopefully) while studying abroad, I will definitely work hard for YOU! (Want to hire me?)

Now that I"m done it means I have TWO days in London without anything hanging over my shoulders. It's wonderful. Tomorrow we got cheap tickets to the matinée showing of "Hairspray". It just opened in London about a month and a half ago, so it's really fun to see the original cast. Then tomorrow evening, they light the tree in Trafalgar Square! This is again an equivalent of lighting the tree at Rockefeller Center, but unlike the Oxford Street lights, there will actually be a (real) tree there. I'm not sure what Friday will bring, but hopefully a lot of goodness and excitement for my last day here.

It's only 9 p.m., but I'm so tired, I'm headed to bed. Cheers!

Almost.....there.....!

2 finals down....2 to go. The hardest one is in the morning. Say a prayer for me...I'm gonna need it.

Things I'm gonna miss...

I've been thinking about the things I'm going to miss in London, the things I definitely will NOT miss, and the things I"m looking forward to at home. By no means is this an all inclusive list...I know there are many things (some probably obvious, some probably important) that I've forgot to put on here. But here it is for now.

And oh, in case you're wondering how I spent my last Saturday night in London, I was studying at school until 1:30 a.m. PARTY ANIMAL!!!

Without further ado....


Things I'm gonna miss about London:
Walking so many places
culture
the feel of the city
night life
shows
walking past the British museum
hanging out with Val
Hanging out with Andrew
People talking in British accents
Being able to travel places for cheap
Running in Russell Square
Bad British Television commercials
the tube
The people that try and attack you with free newspapers
Being able to take the tube and ending up in front of the world's greatest pieces of architecture

Things I'm not gonna miss:
Toilets you have to pump to flush
Getting bumped into all the time
Paying double for everything
My bed that has springs sticking out from the mattress

Looking forward to:
Family
Friends
St. Lawrence Center
Having my own space
Mexican Food
KU Basketball
Text messaging
Singing in my car
Only paying $3.50 for a latte (instead of $7)
Applebees, El Mez, and the Mad Greek
Wings w/ Matt
Nodding my head in disbelief at other Matt
Hugs from my family and friends
Snow
My roommates
The REC center
Watching movies on the couch
Grocery Carts

It's so hard to say goodbye

It's been an eventful 24 hours. Last night, the Tulsa program held a "farewell party" for all of the people in our program. Because we were taking a group picture, everyone came looking nice (with the exception of those of us who are in the Human Rights class and were working on our papers all day), and we celebrated the end of our journey here in London with food and wine. We had a similar reception at the beginning of the program, and it's so interesting to see how things have changed and evolved since then. I'm at the point where I really like the people who are in my program; i feel they finally accept me for who I am, know my boundaries, and are okay with that. I love them equally as much, and it's hard to say goodbye to that when it's taken so long to get comfortable. But that's the way life goes, I suppose.

I hadn't planned on going out last night, but somehow it just happened; it's my last weekend in London and despite the fact that I have 4 finals in 3 days next week, I felt it was something I needed to do. Stacy, Jen D., Val, and I ended up going out to that same Hawaiian type bar that Val and I met my friend Simi at before going to Malta. It was a great time, and it was nice to have a small group of just girls. Many of you know that I'm not a very "girlie" person-- I've just never been in to or felt comfortable with that. But being here has changed that, both because of the people I've met, and because of the people I miss. Don't worry, I'm not ridiculously girlie (I'm not sure I could EVER get there), but it's a little different from before. I think it's where I'm supposed to be.

Anyway, this morning (after only about 4 hours of sleep), I got up and met up with Val, Melissa, Anna, and Nick to go ice skating at a rink that sits inside the moat of the Tower of London. We were the first group of the morning, so it wasn't jam packed (which was oober nice), and it was just blissful. It was a cool crisp morning, but not too cold. I was with my friends, skating (and not falling down) in front of one of the world's most historical structures, with Christmas music playing, and in the best city in the whole wide world. I could not have been more peaceful, nor any happier.

Since I hadn't been actually inside the Tower this visit, I did that after skating. The Beefeaters (the Tower's security guards and queen's official body guards) give free tours, and I took that. Because I needed to get back home and start studying, I gave a cursory glance at the armor of King Henry VIII (who I despise, by the way), and at the worlds largest solitaire diamond in the crown jewels. But it was just incredible.

It's getting close to the end of my time here; this time next week I'll be back in the states (barely), but I'm getting sappy and sentimental because of it. I'm so lucky to have come here. Thank you to all of you who someway made this possible-- from my friends who always knew that this would be good for me, to my parents who supported me regardless of how crazy this decision was, my roommates for accommodating me, and everyone else who has said prayers or well wishes. I appreciate it more than you could possibly know.

Don't stop reading-- that above paragraph isn't a goodbye wish, just a recognition of how incredibly blessed I am. I'll write more in the next day or so. Until then, I've updated my pictures from last night and today. They're again in the "These are the times to remember album..." Enjoy.