what life is like in London, or at least my perception of it

Our apartments: Our apartments are disgusting. They were so filthy when we moved in. The couches are so old and fraying. The bathroom smells like mold. They get really hot because there is no air conditioning. Luckily we are not home a lot except when we are doing homework because we spend most days in class or exploring London and we go out to eat pretty frequently. We also have limited internet access which is sort of annoying. No youtube for me, but it is nice to have a break from TV and video.

What they don’t tell you about London: everyone smokes. You can’t walk anywhere without someone smoking right in your face. So if I get cancer, it’s from all the secondhand smoke here. There’s no ice water in the drinks. You don’t have to tip at restaurants. Dinner is eaten later around here, usually starting at 7:30. And 9:00 is like prime dinner hour. It doesn’t get dark til 10:30 and it is so weird. I always think it is 6:00 when it is 9:00 because of how dark it is. Drinking is also quite popular. The tube is expensive. I spend about 20-30 pounds a week on the tube. Which is about 30 to 45 dollars. 

Church: church is the weirdest thing. I counted today and there were about 35 members in our ward not including us. I love working in the primary though. The two girls that I taught in the Valiant class today (Rachel and Katherine) were telling me all about the trips they go on in school and teaching me British vocabulary. They don’t get out of school until July 24^th for summer vacation, which is crazy. I also had a hard time believing they were Bennett’s age because they are really mature. Not that my brother isn’t, but they just seem so much more grown up and I was shocked. Our bishop is from Zimbabwe and most of our ward members are from Africa somewhere. We have church in a little Catholic primary school and it always cracks me up in primary because we are teaching the children about the Savior while they are looking at emblems of him on the cross and Catholic paintings of him.

My roommates: I think I got mega lucky with them because they are pretty darn great. There’s Olivia, she is super clean, dresses really cute, and we don’t see her a lot. Lisa, the other girl I share a room with who always speaks her mind and is bomb at navigating the tube. Thanks to her and her GPS on her iPhone, we have avoided getting lost many a time. Then there’s Brooke and Jessica and yes they are pretty much a package deal so you have to say it like that! It is Brooke and Olivia’s first time living away from home and they are doing pretty great. Brooke is sweet, fashionable, and oh so innocent and charming. And she loves to have fun. And is kind to everyone. Jessica is a party animal, dresses cute, and her and Brooke are always making me laugh. 

The people that I hang out with (besides my roommates): Heather, the girl I met at the Colony who is really sweet and lets me use her adapter to charge my laptop. Then there’s Michela, the pretty girl who always looks classy and yet is a lover of all the nerdy things I enjoy. So I don’t look at her weird when she starts singing “secret tunnel, secret tunnel…” anytime we walk into a tunnel. It’s great. And there’s Krista, the girl who loves birds. It’s so great because she can identify almost any bird and bird call. She also takes really good photos. That about sums it up. Oh and the boys that come along quite frequently… Preston, who is Brooke's brother, Jake, I don’t really know anything about him except he likes to eat, Jared, who is also our English TA… I hang out with my TA… it’s a little weird, and Bradford, who I also don’t know anything about except he it always making up ridiculous stories… like how he goes clubbing all the time. Anyways we have a good time. 

Getting around London: yes mom, I really do have no sense of direction. I can look at a map and have no idea where to go because I have no idea which way I am facing. But I am slowly learning my way around after many wrong turns and extra miles of walking and I am really good at remembering landmarks and which way we got somewhere, which helps a lot.  

Class: Class is four hours twice a week. It’s a little bit of a long stretch and most the time it is straight lecturing for four hours. I die a little inside during class. We just all bring a lot of snacks to survive! Our English class is also super demanding. I just turned in my rough draft of my essay and my teacher told me that I didn’t write about the right prompt and that I had to rewrite the whole thing. I got the rough draft back Saturday and she wants it Monday. And since I don’t do homework Sundays, that’s kinda a problem. Basically everyone wanted to cry (it's really true, I asked some people) after they got their essays back because we all got ours ripped to shreds. And I thought mine was really well done and I thought they would be a little lenient on us since we are in London. I think I am just a little stressed right now because our English teacher is giving us so much to do when we have no time since we are leaving on a huge 5 day trip this coming Tuesday. My history class is great though. I love learning about it and it’s not too demanding.

The food: We don’t really cook at all. I eat cereal for breakfast, quesadillas or sandwiches for one meal, and I usually go out with people on our study abroad about once a day. But it’s totally possible because they gave us 190 pounds to feed us for two weeks, telling us that food in London is expensive. I have gotten enough groceries and eaten out once a day on that. 190 pounds is about 300 dollars, which is what I spend on about 2 months of groceries in Provo. That is crazy. But I am not complaining, I don’t mind being able to eat out more and buy chocolate every time I go to the store, since it is so delicious anyways. I feel like I am hungry all the time. But we also walk around all the time and I feel tired all the time, so I hope it equals out. Did I mention I eat dessert at least once a day? It's wonderful.

well, now you know what life is like here. regardless of all the crazy things about life in London, I LOVE IT!