Around the World

        I've been keeping a mental list of all the people I've met thus far here in London and more specifically, how diverse they've been. I thought it could be fun to keep a list of where all of my new friends and acquaintances come from. I'll update this periodically as the locations all over the world add up. So far, it's been harder than you might think to find someone who's actually from England ;). Here's what I have so far...

Australia
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Barbados 
Belize
Bulgaria
Brazil
Cayman Islands
China
East Africa
England
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Lithuania
Malaysia
New Zealand
Norway
Romania
Scotland
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Turkey
The U.S.
Venezuela 

Phone numbers received: 1
Directly hit on by: 19
Dinners bought: 1
Drinks bought: 1
Inadvertently held hands with: 3 
Proposed dates: 2

Hillsong London

        Last night after our day trip to Oxford I went to the 6:00 service of Hillsong Church. I absolutely loved it and it was exactly what I needed. I had been feeling a little lonely here already and I really needed to find some community. I was also just feeling a little down about the city as a whole and I was in desperate need of finding other believers here in London. I love it here, but spiritually it's a pretty dark place.
        I went alone and I still felt a little bit on the fringe when I was there. There were probably a couple thousand people there and it was a full theater. I just kind of watched people interact and was feeling a little shy, but even just knowing that they were there in the city was encouraging. After the service there was a party at a place across the street where they had live music and dancing and I went there and really had a lot of fun! I met a ton of people including some really nice girls and even a girl from Indiana! lol. I got several of their numbers and will hopefully be keeping in contact with them during my time here. I'm really glad that I went and am planning to get involved in a connect group (basically a bible study) close to where I live. I feel refreshed and renewed and ready to do His work. =D I don't know how people live in this city without a church! I would never want to be without one.
       1st Day of work tomorrow! Wish me luck!

The Way Out

        There are a lot of small differences about life here. Some are more subtle than others, but it's funny how something small can cause a cultural block between us. When I first arrived here, I asked someone where the restroom was and they just stared at me in complete confusion. Here it's called the toilet, which isn't so unusual, but it sounds really strange and informal to say "can you tell me where the toilets are."
       I've found that about half the time, the people I meet are foreigners like me, and are often just as confused or unable to give directions. Once when I was riding on the tube at a time when the train was particularly crowded, the driver came over the intercom and said, "I think we should make this one V.I.P." Everyone around me just stared at each other. We had absolutely no clue what he was talking about and I still haven't quite figured it out. He waited a while before leaving, so the only meaning I can derive from it was that he meant that some people needed to get off because it was too crowded. ??
       Another problem we've run into is that when we need directions and we can actually find a local to help us they're not sure how to tell us where to go in a way that we understand. They assume that we know the area better than we do and that we know the names of stores or streets in the area. The conversations tend to be somewhat circular and in the end we usually have to find our way on our own anyway. I'm also surprised at how many different stores and brands I've seen. I rarely see any brands I recognize and when I do, the products often have different names or they're different products all together or the packaging is completely different. Of course there's McDonald's, KFC, Starbucks, the usual suspects, but even they sell some different products and those are the only places I recognize.
       One difference that I have found most odd is that they don't have any exit signs here. Even in China there were exit signs. Here they say "way out" instead. I guess maybe some foreigners wouldn't know the word exit. ?? They also rarely have street sign here, which makes the city a bit harder to navigate. I guess they are ugly and take up space, but I already miss them. I've seen more whole milk than anything else and just as much goat milk as 2%. I'm going to get to try a lot of new things I guess and I think grocery shopping will be pretty interesting. lol. So far the main thing I've learned is that I have a lot to learn. That's probably the understatement of the year. Oxford trip in the morning!

These are a slight bit out of order because some of them were taken in Oxford, but this seemed like as good a place as any to put them. The first is Westminster Abbey, second is me at Wagamama, next four were taken during a scavenger hunt, a street busker, sparkle cupcakes at Covent Garden, a famous tea house, and a rare black phone booth, and the last four are from Oxford. Enjoy!

London!

      I'm finally here! I don't even know where to start, so let me just say that I love it here. This is the greatest city that I have ever visited, including NYC. There is so much to see and do and everyone I have met has been extremely helpful and friendly. The last few days they have kept us busy to say the least and at the end of each day I have been exhausted, but I've experienced so much that it has definitely been worth it.
      The day I arrived was pretty rough. I was up for 32 hours and the pressure change in the airplane really drained me. I was literally dead on my feet which was hard because I was excited to be there and meet the other participants of the program, but I felt like I couldn't show it. I made some friends that day and after we had settled in a bit we went to put money on our cards for the underground and decided to take a trip to Piccadilly Circus (kind of like time square) for dinner. We ate at a Vietnamese restaurant in China town and the food was absolutely amazing. It was fun to use the underground and it was a great start to the trip.
       I slept so hard that night and felt much better in the morning, but then we were up early and off and running again. We had orientation that day and then some of us went to Harrad's for lunch which was really cool. It's a huge and very nice department store of sorts and it had literally everything. After that we went on a 3 hour walking tour of the city with a tour guide and we went ALL over the city. This was really cool, but pretty tiring as well and we were all beat by the end of the day. We saw the globe theater, all the parliament buildings, the London Eye, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, many museums, Westminster Abbey, etc.
       The next morning I had my interview as well as many of my new friends and it went extremely well. I could not be more excited about my placement. I am working for the Queen's cousin, which is just amazing on its own, and the other girls I'll be working with are very young and fun and I can tell that the office will have a great atmosphere. It's very laid back and casual, and we'll be planning the Royal Ascot which is basically the same as the Kentucky Derby and I'll get to go to that which is an amazing opportunity! I work in Notting Hill, just like the movie in Lady Elizabeth's house, which is connected to one of the gardens Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts climb into together. It's one of the nicest areas in London and it's very beautiful. I navigated the tube all by myself that day and I feel really confident about it now. It's much easier to navigate than NYC. I picked up papers for a scavenger hunt at the main EUSA office and then we completed some of the things on the list for that too that day. We went to Covent Garden and Leicester Square mostly and we had a lot of fun at both places. We at cupcakes with sparkles on them, saw many impressive street performers (buskers), etc. I already have some favorite places and things that we'll be back for again (like the cupcakes, Vietnamese food, and food at Wagamamas (a noodle shop)). So fun!
       It's been very warm, unusually warm for London, and it hasn't rained once. I'm sure it's coming, but the weather is pretty decent in the summer overall here. I'll try not to always recap everything I do, but instead tell you about interesting things that I learn or differences in the way people live here. Tonight we had a welcome party and tomorrow we have our first seminar and cultural excursion which means we'll be going to the Science Museum. It should be a lot of fun. Excited for new adventures tomorrow! More to come soon! Photos too....don't worry. ;)