Across the world

As you may or may not know, I'm currently in England. Specifically, I'm living in Kensington in London. I left on Sunday and I won't get back till August 14. Surprise! We live in a nice little flat that probably doesn't meet the BYU Honor Code, but since I'm currently representing UVU, and since we're good kids and have Liz and Daniel-- who are married-- to chaperone or something, I'm not concerned. This is our street. I mean sure, it's a little Rear Window. You can absolutely see into all the flats, and I think I see a Ms. Lonely Hearts Club across the way, but it's a quiet, private street, and we don't spend all that much time here anyway. Also, it's right near the South Kensington Tube stop.

I've come to love the Tube. It's been three days and not only have I pretty much learned how to navigate it without my handy Tube Map (don't worry Mom, I keep it in my purse anyway), it's making me fall in love with public transportation. I'm sorry Provo doesn't have a subway system. We also do a lot of walking around here. Like, a LOT of walking. Within two hours of landing at Gatwick, we had walked all the way from Victoria Station to South Kensington, our luggage going bump-bump-bump all the way.

To be truthful, I was rather humiliated, particularly when we schleped past Tiffany & Co. with our gross airplane hair and sweaty faces, struggling to keep our luggage steady on the cobblestone streets. I held my head high, grateful for my sunglasses to keep me less recognizable. You know how people know me around these parts. Scott asked me why I was so worried because no one knows me, so who cares that we looked so obvious as American Tourists, all nine of us right in a row? I told him that it doesn't matter-- I know me, and I didn't love it. I would rather not relive that experience. But I do love this clock.

You know how sometimes people have little glass figures of a temple on top of their wedding cakes? It's not my favorite choice at weddings, but I dare say I'd like to have a little glass replica of this clock on my wedding cake. Better yet-- just make the cake itself look like the clock, to scale. All kidding aside, it's really overwhelming to me and I'm not at all tired of looking at it. Sometimes we just turn a corner and it's just there. The air catches in my throat every time. I'm also not tired of this building:

We went and hung out with a bunch of my dead friends yesterday at Westminster. It's convenient most of them are here, all together. I was glad see how many people had turned out to say hello, and I was even more glad to pay my dearest respects to my girl, Lizzy I. I wish I had been able to take pictures inside the abbey. Then all of you would have been able to make fun of me crying. Yes, I cried, okay? Have a laugh and move on. Meanwhile, I'm going to take another bite of this pasty I bought at lunchtime.

I kind of avoided pasties for a while because that's all my friends have been able to talk about-- pasties, pasties, pasties. Seems really touristy to me, and you knoow how I loathe to play the tourist (most of the time). Then I got one for dinner at the Cornish Bakehouse yesterday and well, my friends are on to something. I brought home half of my pasty today so I could eat it for dinner, and it is delicious. I don't begrudge my friends for chattering on about them anymore.

I love the group we're with. We all get along well, and we have no problems breaking off into smaller groups to do things. Assuming nothing gets dramatic by living together for three weeks. I'm glad I'm getting to know them, especially because I signed up for this program knowing only two people. 

Now I will have friends that will last a lifetime.

Is that a cheesy enough conclusion for an Introduction to England post?