Bad Blogger...

Hey guys! Sorry I have been SO bad at blogging so far! I have been so incredibly busy that I just haven't had the time to do it. But I am going to be better because I am required to keep a journal for my classes, so this is considered my journal. :)

Well a LOT has happened since I last blogged. On Saturday we went to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. We were a tiny bit late so we didn't see the whole thing, but the parts that I did see were very cool. Buckingham is amazing! Oh and the flag was up, so the Queen was in! It was fun to see. After that we went on a two hour walk around St. James's Park, Green Park, Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens. I'm not going to lie, it was a long walk and got a little boring towards the end, but it was absolutely beautiful. Parks here are HUGE. Really. My feet were killing me by the end of it, but it was definitely worth seeing the endless green. Amazing. We then went to a museum and to a play called "The Woman in Black". It was fun. A two man horror show. If you are ever in London, you should see it. It was a fun show in a very intimate theater. I enjoyed it.

Sunday was church and we were put into our assigned wards. My ward is called the "White Chapel Ward" and it's about a 45 minute train ride away. A member of the Stake Presidency told us (there are 3 of us going to that ward) that most of the ward is from Nigeria, so I am really looking forward to going to church on Sunday and meeting the members.

Monday we ran errands - the post office and market, and then I had my first class: Creative Writing. It's going to be a fun class, but a lot of work. We have a lot of writing assignments, but a lot of it is "Wandering, Witnessing, and Writing" about London. So not too bad.

Yesterday was the second day of classes. The only one I had was the History of England which everyone has to take. I am excited for it. We learned about Stonehenge yesterday and about how the Romans came and conquered the British Celts. It's very interesting and a perfect setup to seeing Stonehenge which is what we did today! Last night we saw Chicago and it was sooo good!! The music and dancing was fantastic and I was so glad I went!

It was our first traveling day and I LOVED getting out of the city for a day. Don't get me wrong, I love London but sometimes it's nice to get out of the city and into the country. The countryside of England is breathtaking! We started the day at 6:30 am with breakfast, got on the bus and headed to Salisbury Cathedral. Such a cool building. The architecture is amazing and the interior is even better. The building is built on only 4 feet of foundation that's made out of little pebbles and water. Pretty cool. After Salisbury, we went to Stonehenge. It's a really fun place and so much fun thinking about how those people lifted those huge stones on top of each other...It boggles my mind. Stonehenge is fun and all, but after about 30 minutes it gets boring. haha not much going on, but easy to appreciate nonetheless. After Stonehenge we drove to Bath and saw the Assembly halls there, which was so much fun. It is exactly what I pictured it to be like in Jane Austen's time and it was just a surreal place. The ballroom was huge and we took pictures of ourselves dancing together. It was fun to imagine balls and parties going on there.

After the Assembly halls, we went to the Roman Baths and they were AWESOME!! It really is so amazing that they built that temple and courtyard around the baths. The water was way warm (Shh! We weren't supposed to stick our hands in the water, but I did...) and a nasty green color. The water was actually pretty gross. I will hopefully upload some pics so you can see them...We'll see. :)

I am living my dream and having a BLAST!! Thank you to you all for your love and support and for being such huge influences on me. I love you and hope you are having as much fun as I am, even though it's unlikely! ;) I will definitely write in the next few days...

Love,

Liz

A Day in London...

Carly & I in front of the London Tower

Trafalgar Square at night!

Me & Carly - Westminster Abbey

Queen Elizabeth - Yep, that's me!

St. James's Park

Tower Bridge

Sorry I haven't put up any others...You have NO IDEA

how long it takes to upload 1 picture!!

Me & BIG Ben...I love Bens :)

Mind the Gap

Wow...Where to begin?? I'm going to make this as short and informative as possible, but I don't know how well that's going to go over. Also, I am so dumb and planned on coming here to upload pics and spend the time doing all of that junk, but I definitely left my camera at the centre. **Side note, the Wi-fi at the centre is NOT like it is in America. It also doesn't help that we have 50 or so people trying to use the internet at the same time. That's been my biggest frustration...Lack of technology. haha. It's all good though! I'm in LONDON!!

So, as you can tell, I made it here in one piece! The airports are always a nightmare and customs especially is the worst. But we made it and it has been amazing ever since! We met up with 5 other people in our connecting flight through Dallas and flew across the pond together. When we finally got our bags, we had a cute old driver waiting for us. He had a great accent and a witty sense of humor. Next we walked across the entire airport, I got stuck in the "lift", and we almost got hit by a car. The driver asked us if we were Mormons, we said yes, and then he made the comment, "You're the first Mormons I've met that actually laugh!" It was a great little experience with my first Londoner.

The centre is amazing! Of course I got put on the TOP floor (aka five flights of stairs) with the best roommates ever! I am rooming with Carly, Elise, Annie, Sharon, and Kinsey. We have a blast! I love it. There is way less storage space than I was expecting, but I didn't bring as much as I thought either. At least compared to everyone else. I don't know. I am definitely my mother's daughter and feel like I need to be organized with all of my stuff, but we only get ONE drawer so it's hard to do that. I'll figure it out eventually.

We have been on so many adventures in the past 2 days! On Wednesday, after unpacking, we were NOT allowed to take a nap so we went on a walk around Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. It was absolutely breathtaking. Then we broke up into little groups to explore. We basically wandered around the other side of the park and found the Hyde Park Chapel! It is so cute! We walked in and the Stake President was sitting there and so we talked to him for a while...He has the BEST accent ever! My favorite thing is just listening to people talk...Mostly little kids. I love it.

Yesterday we had orientation and it was pretty boring. It didn't help that it was at 10 am (aka 3 am in Salt Lake) and we were all dozing off. It was pretty bad. We got our kitchen assignments and I'm in charge for this week...I'm not going to go too much into that because I'm not loving that part of it. Remember the good, forget the bad. ;) After orientation, we went to the little restaurant close to the centre called Nando's and it was interesting. I'm not sure I am going to dig the food very much. I mean it was good, but not THAT good. After Nando's, we went and got our Oyster cards (Tube/Subway/Metro passes). I forgot to "Mind the Gap" getting into the Tube last night and almost tripped my way into the train...Pretty embarrassing. Last night we went and saw "Big BEN" and the "London Eye" and it is just beautiful here at night!! I love it. I am so excited for all the adventures we're going to have.

Today we went to Westminster Abbey - tombs of Charles Dickins, Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, George Frederick Handel, etc. Princess Diana's funeral was held there and the Royal wedding will be there in April. We also went to the Tower of London - "Bloody Tower", King's armor, and the crown jewels. Just absolutely amazing. Again, I'm SO sorry I forgot my camera! I will definitely upload the pictures when I come to the internet cafe next time.

I'm having a blast, making tons of friends, and just loving living in London. I love all of you who read this and miss you tons!! I'll update soon. I promise.

Love,

Liz

Christmas is over...Now to LONDON.

Christmas came WAY faster than expected. Christmas Eve started out with my dad dragging me out of bed to run 3 and a half miles with him. I thought I was in better shape then I really am...Bummer. It was fun nonetheless to spend some "quality" time with my dad. The rest of the day was filled with too many sweets (so much for running those 3 miles..), Christmas music, and fun new family traditions.

What I was most anxious for that Christmas Eve day was speaking to Elder Benjamin on the phone! (A little update: Ben and I dated throughout our junior and senior years of high school up until he left on his mission to Novosibirsk Russia in July 2009. I always told myself I would NEVER have a missionary but, alas, here I am and I love it!) It was so much fun to hear all of the incredible experiences he's having and especially to hear his voice. What an amazing missionary he is!

Christmas was awesome. It always is. Last year, my family was in Newport Beach over Christmas and it was a ton of fun, but there really is nothing like being home for the holidays. I got everything I need to move to London: a raincoat, rain boots, and an umbrella. I got other great things too, but my FAVORITE gift of all was the surprise my sister gave us...She's going to have a baby! FINALLY!!!! I've been wanting to be an aunt the past 3 years and now it's finally coming true! Jess & Dave are expecting their first baby in July 2011. I'm going to be an auntie! Woohoo!!! Congrats guys!

Now to London I go. I leave in 8 days and I have no idea what to do to start getting ready. Luckily I have a super organized and amazing mother who is helping me do everything I need to do. Mostly I have to get shots, a haircut, a dental appointment, blah blah blah. It's all the little things I don't want to do, but NEED to do. I know it's nothing like it, but I feel kind of like I'm going on a mission. I have already said goodbye to multiple friends and family and it feels weird. I'm not a fan of goodbyes, but I know it's definitely going to be worth it! I am excited for this new adventure of a lifetime I am going to have.

LONDON HERE I COME.

Talking to Elder Benjamin!

Baby Nelson - "Tee Time" July 2011!!!!!

27 Days...

Welp...Here goes nothin'. I've never blogged in my whole life, but I have to learn how to do it I guess because I'm going to LONDON!!! (Yes, that is why my blog is called "Liz in London".) Basically all I have to say right now is that I can't believe I am leaving in 27 DAYS. It's been a pretty surreal process thus far and I know that it's just going to get more and more crazy as the countdown continues.

So this is how it happened: I have always wanted to do a Study Abroad. It's been a dream of mine since I can remember. During the summer, I started thinking more about it and decided to look into it a little more. I wanted to do it through BYU because I knew it would probably be the safest and the most logical to do in what I'm going for. (Ugh...I hate saying that I'm going to go to BYU...but really, who cares.) My parents were in Russia when I first started seriously thinking about it and so I needed some advice from someone - Jessica. Jess has always been my "go - to" person when mom's not around. She actually applied and got accepted to go to London 4 years ago exactly, but ended up not being able to go for financial reasons. It was meant to be though because she met her husband, Dave, the day she was supposed to leave. I know - magic right?? Jess told me to decide what I wanted to do and then pray about it. I took her advice and here I am! Thanks Jess!!

Anyways, long story short, I applied and got accepted on September 26th. I was studying in the library with my roommate, Lucy, when I got the email and FREAKED out. "I started kwying a wittle bit" (Just for you, Danielle) and whisper-yelled to Lucy, "I got accepted to London!!" There was nothing I could really do except run down the 3 flights of stairs, out the doors, and scream. Normally I would be embarrassed by this - actually no. I wouldn't. - but I was so excited I couldn't contain myself. It was a pretty surreal experience.

Now, 3 months later, I am finishing up this semester with finals and trying to get ready for London at the same time. Who knew that moving to another country for 5 months would be this stressful? Needless to say, I am VERY EXCITED for the crazy, wild, amazing adventure I am going to have!! Christmas break is going to be awesome this year, by the way: Hanging with the fam, talking to my missionary on the phone, spending time with friends, getting ready to go and then BAM! I'm gone!!

For now though, I want my lovely roommates and awesome family to know how much I love them and am going to miss them. They have really been there for me and I am so grateful for the love and support they are giving me. Thank you to Danielle, Lucy, Whit, and Shayla for giving me the BEST semester at Utah State yet!! You girls are amazing and I love you more than you will ever know.

Well I guess it's time to wrap this up. Who knows if I'll post anything before I leave. So if not...I'LL TALK TO YOU IN LONDON!!!! Merry Christmas to you and a very Happy New Year.

Love,

Liz