Threee Bliiind Miiice!

LAST MONDAY

Last Monday we attended our first official British Culture and History class, which was six hours total; three hours walking around and taking notes on my iPad (definitely better than pen and paper!), a break for lunch at our favorite pub Shakespeare's Head (delicious food, great atmosphere, low prices), and then three more hours of taking notes in a classroom. It's safe to say my favorite part is the more hands on option of being "in the field" and seeing the places that we are learning about. Rumbelowoman is so lovely; she used the word "posh" a couple of times to describe chic fashion choices that we came across Monday morning. I told her, "I really like you; you're so sassy!" :)

Our little quintet that is always together consists of Brandon, Ethan, Jenna, Lindsay, and I. And I'm fairly certain every one of our professors quickly labeled us "The Troublemakers". All of us get in trouble all the time, no matter how hard we try to be good! So we've started saying, "Story of my life!" every time we get scolded because it seems to happen so often. But no worries, I'm quite confident they still like us...they're just jealous that we always have so much fun in each others' company. ;)


 ^ Krispy Kreme Gang! :P

We are all major fans of ice cream, and much of last week was spent searching for good ice cream. I have also yet to find a delish Thai food restaurant to frequent, but I am determined. One surprise is that much of London seems to shut down quite early. However, there are certain areas that stay up later, like Soho and Picadilly Circus, so we just have to learn where to go and when. It is so convenient to just walk to a destination, or jump on the tube; everything is so accessible!



^ "Gary" in the kitchen at 2 AM.

Mice. Are. Everywhere. In our room, in the lobby, in the kitchen, on the streets. Every time we see a mouse, the boys say "Look! It's Gary!" I'm not exactly sure why, but they have decided that every mouse is named Gary... It's a good thing I'm not afraid of them! I am just thankful they are not roaches or rats. As long as they stay away from my bed and my clothes, I'm good. I have only seen one rat, and that was outside in the park when I went running the other night. Yuck-o!



Here is a picture of the iconic telephone booths. They are really only kept around for the sake of tourists. We have seen homeless people sleeping in the bottom of them in an attempt to keep warm in the cold night time temperatures, and there are icky pictures posted on the inside walls of, *ahem* services that are offered by disgustingly desperate women.

XOXO 
Megan♥

First Weekend in London

The Saturday after we got here we had a Scavenger Hunt throughout London. Team Awesome was composed of Jenna, Lindsay, Brandon, Carson (an HSU student), and myself. That was the LONGEST eight hours of my life, and by the end we were sore, tired, hungry, and cranky. We considered giving up many, many times, but we pushed through 'til the end and it paid off because WE WON! We beat the other three teams and won 20 extra pounds each for the week! We also ended up with lots of great pictures and fun memories. :)













That evening we had our first taste of the famous British delicacy, Fish & Chips in a historic London pub. Chips in England are actually thickly cut french fries. I absolutely loved this meal; delicious! I can't get enough fish and chips while I'm here, because I won't be able to find this meal quite as easily when I'm back home in Texas.



Sunday we went to church at WESTMINSTER ABBEY! Y'all. That place is so gorgeous. We are going to tour the Abbey next Monday for class, so I will talk about it more then. Everyone who knows me knows that I am not always the most uhhh, punctual person in the world. We were told to meet in the lobby of our hostel at 10:40. I came downstairs at 10:48 and everyone was gone. I had about a 20 second freak out, and then I decided to just find my own way. We had gone to the Abbey the day before for the scavenger hunt, so I was fairly confident I could get there without too much trouble. I made it without a hiccup because an elderly couple who were going to the same area took me under their wing and were so kind and helpful! I am serious y'all, everyone is SO nice!

When I walked into Westminster Abbey, I was a little scared that I wouldn't be able to find my group right away, so I prayed, "Lord, please just let me spot them as soon as I walk in!" And you know what? The Lord takes care of me, 'cause the second I walked in I saw Carson, AND there was an empty seat on the end next to Jenna! :)

The service was...interesting. I'd never attended a Catholic service before, so I didn't know what to expect. There are a lot of things in the service that the attendees are supposed to repeat or say together, and before I went inside I promised myself that if there was anything I didn't agree with or believe in, I wouldn't say it. But you know what? I had the same exact beliefs as the words in the program and sermon. I am so blessed by learning about different types of worship since coming to London! More on that when I give my response to the church we attended yesterday, All Souls. :)

After church, we went to a pub to try the Sunday traditional lunch, "Sunday Roast". It was alright, but I much prefer Texans' version of Sunday pot roast. Much more flavorful and gravy covered! :P Yummm, my mouth is watering. Mom, take note: I want roast with carrots and potatoes sooooooon after I get home! Haha.

For the next few days I will be combining days from last week so as to catch up, so stay tuned. :)

XOXO
Megan♥

Learning the Lay of the Land

LAST FRIDAY

Friday morning we had our first walking tour of the city, led by one of our professors, Dr. Rumbelow. He & his lovely wife are both teaching us our required class, British Culture & History, so for this blog I will call them Rumbelowman and Rumbelowoman :P It was interesting learning how to get around a big, bustling city without getting squished by a double-decker bus or knocked over by a swiftly paced Londoner on the tube, but we picked it up quite quickly! I would even venture to say we blend in with the locals in that aspect these days. ;)

We visited one of many Starbucks (of course! Those who know me well shan't be surprised!), and the man working the "till" (what Londoners call cash registers) was so adorable! He helped me count out my coins, as I was still unsure what each coin was worth, and when he asked where I was from and I replied "Texas!", he exclaimed, "Oh wow! Texas is my third favorite CITY in America! After New York and LA!" Ha! I didn't have the heart to tell the sweet guy that Texas is definitely not merely a city. :P

Y'all, one of the most pleasant surprises has been that everyone here (for the most part!) is so nice and helpful to us. I was warned before I came that people would be mean because we are foreigners, but that is so not the case at all. Most say, "Oh I LOVE Americans!!!" and want to know all about Texas. :) It is quite hysterical to hear some of the presumptions about Texans! But that's a post for another day.

Friday evening, we had the pleasure of going to see Shrek the Musical! I was a little weary, to tell you the truth. Shrek? I mean, come on, there are so many things I would rather see in London's talent-filled West End. I could never fully dislike a play, because even if I don't care for the story I can still appreciate it from an actor's point of view. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how cute Shrek was! There were some parts that I didn't particularly care for, but it was better than I anticipated.

^Brandon & I right after seeing Shrek the Musical

^Me, Jenna, and Lindsay at Shrek the Musical

After seeing the show, Brandon (another UMHB student, the super sweet boy I hang out with most here!), Jenna, & I decided we wanted to explore and check out London night life. We spent around 2 hours walking around & taking it all in. We got super hungry around 1:30 AM, so we decided to stop at one of the only places that was still open: a sketchy looking Chinese restaurant with about two options for food. Needless to say, the food was pretty gross. Buuuuuut, we did have quite an experience, that kept us there for the next two hours. :) We were all talking and a guy our age turned around from the table beside us and said, "You're Americans! I grew up in Minnesota!" Turns out he lived there for 10 years, and then moved to Switzerland, but is now attending Uni (their word for college) in London. His name was Adrian, and he was so hilarious...and super cute as well, no big deal. ;) To cut a crazy long story short, we had a blast getting to know him & two of his other rugby playing, engineering studying, ruggedly handsome friends (one of whom was from Northern Ireland, was named Colin, and had the most delectable accent ;P). They were impossibly adorable with their European charms, and their flirtacious banter. ;) I asked them what would be a stereotype of American girls, and they said that we really know how to walk...in other words, us down home ladies sure know how to strut our stuff! ;P We even taught them how to Texas two step in the middle of the restaurant! That night was so much fun; one of my favorite memories thus far. :) They also gave us names of two of London's best clubs that we need to check out, Fabric and Ministry. I can't wait to see what they're all about, sometime soon!


^Jenna and an awesome pink car we saw, and one of the famous buses in the background!


Friday was also the first day we rode one of the famous red double decker buses. Jenna is absolutely obsessed with them! :P One thing to note is that in Europe, drivers are on the right side of vehicles and passengers get in one the left side! That took some getting used to, for sure. As well as learning how to tell which bus stops where...I'm still a bit foggy on that. But I prefer the tube anyway! It creates more of a sense of adventure somehow. :P

Keepin' it Texan here in the UK, y'all!

XOXO 
Megan♥

Playing Catch Up

Hey y'all! I'm finally gettin' my blog started, after being in London for 8 days. I am going to do a recap of every day so y'all won't be missing out ;) In this post, I am going to just post part of an email that I sent to my parents about our first day here. Stick with me 'til I get this all figured out. :)



THURSDAY (of last week!)
 Loooong day, haven't slept at all (couldn't sleep on the plane, and never had a chance for a nap, but this way I'll sleep through the night) and quickly adjust to my new schedule 6 hours ahead of y'all :) Right before boarding the flight to London, I noticed three girls who were sticking together, and one was wearing a Cru shirt (UMHB is the Crusaders) so I asked them if they were with our group. They said yes and from then on we've been pretty much inseparable :) Their names are Jenna, Diana, and Lindsay, and they are all so sweet and awesome and Christianly! When we landed, we went through baggage claim, customs, and found the other terminal we were meeting everyone else at together, along with Matt, one of the HSU guys, who was also on our flight. Then we met everyone else, a charter bus took us to Pickwick Hall (where we are living) and we spent the day getting settled in, meeting/getting info, exploring, getting acquainted with the Tube (like the subway in America, but here a subway is simply an underground walkway!), and getting to know each other.


^Jenna, Lindsay, and me (with our yum delish Starbucks!)

I'm not even kidding, I LOVE every single person here!!!!!! We all mesh soooo well! Everyone is so kind! All the guys hold the doors for all the girls every time we go somewhere and are so nice and respectful. Everyone has little quirks/hobbies that are unique, but nobody thinks they're weird for it; it makes everyone respect each other more & no one ever runs out of things to talk about. The best part is, none of us are clique-y; we have all been a big, happy group, and no one ever got left out at all. Everyone seems to be super outgoing!


^Awesome fountain at Russel Square Garden
I intend to go running often at the two gardens that are just a few yards from our building. The girls all said they will go to the yoga classes I found online, and they all want to experience anything and everything!! Not just the girls on that last part, all the guys are up for anything as well! We all want to see every play, check out the pubs & clubs, see everything there is to see, and everyone is planning weekends trips! The only place I think I'm gonna go extra is Paris. J'adore le Francais!

I got some of my dollars turned into pounds at the post office, which is a short little walk from our building. It wasn't even that cold today, it felt really great! And it was damp, but never rained on us. :) The four of us girls took lots of pictures, and they always tag me, so y'all can see them from my profile. The four of us girls bought a blow dryer to share (so we could split the cost), but no curling iron yet. :/ The air is so damp though, I'm not sure my hair will even hold a curl, so I've gotta decide what to do about that.

My room is teensy tiny. It's me and Rachel, the other HSU girl. She's the perfect roommate! The room is not dirty, but it's so little. We have our two beds, a dresser to share, a decent sized closet, a sink, a fridge, a microwave, and a desk...all of that is crammed in, so there's hardly any floor space left. There's a little mirror way above our sink that only shows your face, but I found a full length one on a door in the hallway! ;) So far I haven't had a problem with having to wait for the shower! :)

We had dinner at this really nice pizza place called Pizza Express and everyone stayed talking for two hours. I love all the professors as well! Haven't met the British professors yet though. We also got our Oyster cards (Tube and bus passes) and 60 pounds (like $100) allowance. From now on, we will get it every Tuesday afternoon at our weekly meeting.

The best part of this whole thing is the fact that everyone gets along so well! No drama queens, no super shy people, no obnoxious or rude people..we all seem to have the same frame of mind. It reminds me of being around all GT people. It seems like we all kind of think in that same way, that's so rare to find. Everyone seems to be smart, respectful, and really cares about being a Godly person! There are a few people majoring/minoring in ministry fields, and one other girl is an elementary ed major (and she is a freshman as well!) I lovelovelovelovelovelovelove it here, and we are all so happy and excited for this semester :)

Cheers! (A British girl said that to us today when we let her go ahead of us in line to buy the blow dryer; it was so charming :P)

 XOXO 
 Megan♥