Life (in London)

Hi from rainy and cold London!
So, they say you learn the most from making mistakes and it's true cause I've figured out a lot of things this way in the past few days. The following is a list of things which I've learned thus far some by making mistakes and some just in passing:

List of Things I've learned Thus Far

1. Do not go to an evening prayer service at Westminster Abbey when jet lagged and then close your eyes during prayer.
2. The Rosetta Stone is on display in the British Museum but it's not in the gift shop, it's in room 41.
3. Julia and I move at least 67% slower than all Londoners, and they have their own way of letting you know it.
4. You can see lots of London without spending a ton of money and you won't even realize how much you've walked until you finally sit down.
5. Check the destination of the tube you get on, do not blindly run onto one just because it's about to pull away.
6. There seems to be a 10p "American discount" at most places we've had drinks or coffee

The first morning we arrived in London felt a bit surreal to me not because everything was new or different but because the first people I saw (and especially all police men) reminded me of either a scene from Love Actually or all of Hot Fuzz (btw, why is that movie called that??) and I could not stop laughing every 2 minutes. If you haven't seen either, go watch them!
My favorite day was yesterday as we met up with Emma Clark and Alex Turtle to explore the British Museum. There is just something about seeing familiar faces in a strange place. The museum was my favorite activity so far, I was overwhelmed by how much history it holds and things that I had only learned about in textbooks until then. It made me both thankful for the teachers who insisted I learn these things and also regretful that I hadn't retained more. Thanks, Prof. Leinbaugh for stressing how monumental the discovery of the Sutton Hoo treasure was to Anglo Saxon history. On Thursday we went to an evensong service at Westminster Abbey, sung by a boys choir. It was amazing. It was incredible to be worshipping in the same place that people had been worshipping for hundreds of years and to witness the dedication, skill and incredible work had been put into the abbey as an honoring to the Lord.

I am finding that living out of a pack for 7 weeks may be more challenging than i had expected and now i am really excited about getting rid
of books and clothes along the way.

The next couple days we will spend at Julia's friend's house who lives alongside the Thames. We had to Ireland on Monday and on to the yoga farm on Tuesday!