Time Flies.

Today was my first day of classes back in boring old Glenside. I officially changed my major to Global Media, which means not only a completely different academic plan, but also two more semesters abroad in the not-so-distant future (YAYY!!). But before I get into that, I probably should catch up on my posts about London...or, rather, my last few vacations away from London!

With December came buildings decorated for Christmas, finals, and most strangely, days full of "lasts".  Last study session at Senate House, last excursion, last vacation, last tube card, etc. It was such a strange feeling; I couldn't wait to go home for the holidays, but I could not wrap my mind around the fact that I was actually going to have to say goodbye. I kept saying to Claire, I wish London was in this bubble right next to Ellington...then I could go home to my bubble and come back any time I wished. Of course, the idea that I would probably never see the same buildings or people in those buildings again was not something I wanted to think about!

**My heart belongs to Senate House Library**

That's probably why this moment made my day.  A few weeks after buying this scarf in Hyde Park with Zoe (intended as a gift), I decided to wear it and keep it for myself. On my way out of Sainsbury's, I was met by a girl handing out flyers advertising a local gym. It took us both a second to realize that we were wearing the same scarf! We figured out that we had both visited the same vendor, an alpaca farmer, but at two different years and two separate festivals inLondon. 

I left Sainsbury's and then turned around and came back to take this picture, saying it was just too cool a moment to not put on the blog :)

My final excursion through Arcadia was on December 1st: Ice Skating at Somerset House. It was beautiful, but a bit crowded and a little unsafe...maybe I'm an ice rink snob but the ice wasn't quite the same as the ones at UConnn and Twin Rinks.

We had a blast, though. Here are some pictures of us waiting to get on the ice:

It was especially memorable for us FYSAE girls because one of our flatmates, Kat, tripped and fell, breaking her nose and losing her two front teeth (in the ice. like stuck.). Needless to say, she was rushed to the hospital. Here's a picture before that happened:

Kat, Ally, Anna, Me, Claire, Willie, Abriel, Eli

And here's one of Claire and me. Yes, we have matching outfits from Primark :)

This may or may not have been the moment Kat fell:

One last picture. Willie, one of our Princess Elizabeth housemates from Franklin & Marshall, plays hockey and easily weaves in and out of the stumbling city dwellers who can't skate. He took me for a ride and Claire managed to take a picture :) 

I ended up pulling my last all-nighter of the semeste; our Uber driver, ready to bring us to the airport for Venice, arrived in our driveway before the sun came up the next morning. Next stop: Italy!

Good Food. Good Talk. (Part Two)

I was (just a little) sleep deprived from the week leading up to HostUK. So on Sunday, I didn't wake up for my alarm and ended up sleeping in. I woke up when Amelia came in to my room to tell me to get up. I was so embarassed...but John and Elizabeth hadn't wanted to wake me because my "body clearly needed to rest."

John sat with me and read me crossword puzzles as I ate breakfast at the table (left).  Amelia had homework to work on, anyway, so I only felt slightly bad for delaying the day. Instead of going to Wales, John decided to take us to Shrewsbury School, a primary school with the steep tuition of 30,000 pounds a year (for elementary kids??) John said it "reeks of privilege".

He led us into Taylor Library inside the school, saying he wasn't sure if we would be allowed in but it was worth a shot just to look around:

There happened to be a professor showing a man some of the books in a room of to the side of the main library. John asked if it was okay for us to be in the library. Rather than kick us out, he started talking to us about all the books they had, including the first edition of Charles Darwin's world-renowned "Origin of Species".

The professor insisted I take a picture with it. I was like, okay...in this picture my smile is actually a mask of fear; I was so scared I would drop it. 

We looked around for a bit more, and were just about to leave when John waved me over to where he was talking with the professor. 

John: "Leah, you go to church right?"

Me: "Yes."

Professor: "I don't know which bible you use, but we have a first edition of the King James Bible. Would you like to see it?"

Me: "No way!"

John: "No way? Is that American for 'yes'?"

Me: "Yes!"

It was the most random, unexpected, breath-taking, and inspiring moment. I couldn't believe he was so casually flipping through it... I took these videos for a few seconds, but then I wanted to hear what he was saying so I put my phone down. 

I would've asked him to open to my favorite verse but I was a little tongue-tied! He then told us we could flip through it ourselves, but I was too afraid to rip the pages by accident or something. It was so cool. 

Left, Darwin Quote: "It is a golden rule, which I try to follow to put every fact which is opposed to one's conceived opinion in the strongest light.

As we were leaving the library (I was still a bit in shock from what we saw in there), John said, "It's a really good thing you slept in, Leah, isn't it?" (I don't hear that every day!)

After a tea break (below), we headed into a large park in town, to take scenic pictures and enjoy the view. 

The park is HUGE (like many parks in England. Boy, am I gonna miss them!)

Kingsland bridge is a little freaky because of how much it moves when you walk on it. John warned us we might get seasick and at first I thought he was kidding but it actually was pretty intense. 

The round church (below) is allegedly shaped this way so that "the devil can't hide in any corners"...also Scrooge from The Christmas Carol is buried under there. (I, for one, totally thought he was a fictional character!)

As we were leaving, we passed this building with a plaque (above my head in this photo) illustrating a record flood line from years ago. John took my pictures, stating: "You'd be in trouble, Leah, wouldn't you?" (Yes, English people turn every statement into a question):

 This gate to get out of the park (below) is called a "kissing gate" because it only lets one person through at a time...(allowing courting couples to kiss, I guess? I didn't really get it but it reminded me of Anne Shirley, so that was reason enough for a picture). John let me through first, and then, in reference to kissing, said, "I won't hold you to it." Haha. I made an offhand joke about how half American population wouldn't be able to fit through it...and then he gave me a Look and replied, "Well you said it not me." When Elizabeth found out what we were talking about, she was horrified. I had to assure her that I was the one who brought it up! Whoops. 

 

We got home that afternoon for a late lunch. John got me hooked on this book, but I couldn't finish it in time (*cough cough* Christmas gift?); it's a collection of love letters between an American woman and some owners of an English bookstore. I read that while Amelia and Liz made one of Amelia's favorite cake recipes (left). Then John showed us his recipes (middle) for bread that he makes every week. 

And then the weekend was pretty much over! After lunch we packed our bags, they took pictures of us and gave us their address, and I got one final picture of their house:

It was an unforgettable weekend and I left feeling refreshed :) Life is so good.