Today was our first day trip! We woke up super early and started our journey to Salisbury and the Salisbury Cathedral. The two and a half hour bus ride flew by like the length of a blink, probably because I slept from the time I sat down to the time the bus stopped. Mom, everyone loved my blue hat and matching scarf! The cathedral was really neat because we split into small groups and had tour-guides. Our little guide was a bucketful of cool information. The whole tower is leaning 30 inches and it’s 408 feet tall!
But Stonehenge was an even better adventure. We took so many pictures! Liz and I even held our friend Elise on our shoulders to try to recreate our own Stonehenge. It was raining like crazy, but that just made the experience so much better.
The coolest part of this day trip, though, was going to the Bath Assembly Hall. Jane Austen wrote about the room I was in and had balls and dances there in her books! They even filmed the new Pride and Prejudice there!! Honestly, that was cool. We tried to dance in there to recreate our own Austen moments, but it just ended up being hilarious and too funny for words. And from there we went to the Roman Baths where a natural hot spring feeds warm water into the large pools and naked Roman people used to go socialize and steam together. Then we just explored Bath, got to wander in some shops, I bought some super cheap earrings, and see the Bath Bridge. And of course I got keychains for my fantastic collection!
It was so funny- when we got home, probably around 15 girls swarmed the fridge to devour the leftover pasta from last night’s dinner. It was scrumptious. Then I went to the local pub, ordered an apple juice (don’t worry, I said no to the bartender when he asked if I would like vodka in it), and made a lot of progress on my homework. Homework. Bleh. I don’t know how I can do homework when I have London at my front door. Luckily, I’m not living out in the country, because it would be even more tempting. I loved the country and the green, rolling hills!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Chicago!!
I got to see my first Musical in London tonight! I stopped at the Leicester half-price ticket booth this morning during my “Soho” walk. Quick sidenote, the Soho walk was awesome. We may have gotten lost, but the three mile walk through Chinatown, Soho, Leicester Square, and lots of other famous places was super fun. But we stopped and bought tickets to shows for that night. Some other girls went to see Dirty Dancing, and they didn’t love it, so I’m obviously brilliant and made the right choice.
The best way to describe Chicago is a display of fishnet unitard bodies, black lingerie, dark makeup, genius hair, red lips, pointy collar bones, and nonexistent hips. Don’t forget to mention the men in work-style jeggings, belts, little vests, fishnet shirts, shaved chests, unshaved faces, skinny muscles, tattoos, big muscles, seductive (or not so seductive) smiles. The transvestite reporter was unexpected, yet not completely a shock. However, the dancing was crisp, sharp, meticulous, seemingly effortless, and mesmerizing at parts. Their voices were creamy, smooth, wonderful, talented, and comparable to the warm, oozing nutella inside a fresh crepe.
So my History of England class seems like it will be a lot less stressful than I had imagined. We’ll have a lot of textbook reading, but not as many essays as I had feared. Unfortunately, I have to write two or three assignments a week for my literature class, and an entire slew of assignments daily for my creative writing class. It might possibly kill me. That’s why the description of Chicago didn’t sound like my normal conversational description… I’m using it for my writing journal. I have a feeling that’s going to start happening frequently in this blog, so I apologize!
The best way to describe Chicago is a display of fishnet unitard bodies, black lingerie, dark makeup, genius hair, red lips, pointy collar bones, and nonexistent hips. Don’t forget to mention the men in work-style jeggings, belts, little vests, fishnet shirts, shaved chests, unshaved faces, skinny muscles, tattoos, big muscles, seductive (or not so seductive) smiles. The transvestite reporter was unexpected, yet not completely a shock. However, the dancing was crisp, sharp, meticulous, seemingly effortless, and mesmerizing at parts. Their voices were creamy, smooth, wonderful, talented, and comparable to the warm, oozing nutella inside a fresh crepe.
So my History of England class seems like it will be a lot less stressful than I had imagined. We’ll have a lot of textbook reading, but not as many essays as I had feared. Unfortunately, I have to write two or three assignments a week for my literature class, and an entire slew of assignments daily for my creative writing class. It might possibly kill me. That’s why the description of Chicago didn’t sound like my normal conversational description… I’m using it for my writing journal. I have a feeling that’s going to start happening frequently in this blog, so I apologize!
Like a little girl on her first day of kindergarten
So it was way fun skyping Mom and Kyle last night. Flammily and friends, please add me on Skype! My Skype name is Carly_Flamm . I plan on getting on Skype most Sundays sometime between 1-4 pm MST and I really want to talk to you all! Plus, you can look in the Notting Hill McDonalds! I just got a Starbucks card so I can use their internet, we’ll see if it’s better than McDonalds soon.
Today was the first day of classes. Crazy. I had two classes today, both of which were 2.5 hours long. If I didn’t love that professor so much, it would be the most miserable experience of my life. Knowing that London is a stairway away from the classroom, I would die with a boring teacher. My literature class is going to be a ton of work, but I will love it. And my creative writing class will probably kill me, because I have to write so much every day. Hopefully it doesn’t toss my brain into the rubbish bin. I’m kinda excited to see if it will help me enjoy writing.
Between classes, I split this awesome Panini from the cutest bakery. The food they cook in the center is pretty atrocious, but at least the rest of London’s food is great! A quick note on the desserts: they are the best dang thing I have ever put it my mouth (other than mom’s cooking, or course…..)
But we do this thing in my writing class called WWW, where we wander, witness, and write about anything we see in London. We just walk aimlessly around the city in small groups with a notebook, stop randomly and write whatever comes to mind. The only downside is that we have to share it with our group every time after… haha good thing I’ve never been too shy.
Tonight I got to experience Oxford Street for the first time. Brady was right, I will love Oxford Street. It’s pretty close to us from the tube, so I’m sure we’ll go often. I only saw one H&M, but I am dedicated to visiting all of them on that street in one day. Then I went with a different group of girls to a creperie. Mom, you would have DIED and gone to heaven in that little shop.
Oh, and guess what?! I think I’m going to Prague for my travel week. And ….. drumroll please…. I bought tickets to London for a couple of weekends from now. I have my Chunnel ticket, and seven of us are sharing a hotel room built for 4/5. In Paris, I can guarantee that will be a Squeeze. Oh, the adventures of being young. Good thing I am so experienced sleeping on the floor.
Today was the first day of classes. Crazy. I had two classes today, both of which were 2.5 hours long. If I didn’t love that professor so much, it would be the most miserable experience of my life. Knowing that London is a stairway away from the classroom, I would die with a boring teacher. My literature class is going to be a ton of work, but I will love it. And my creative writing class will probably kill me, because I have to write so much every day. Hopefully it doesn’t toss my brain into the rubbish bin. I’m kinda excited to see if it will help me enjoy writing.
Between classes, I split this awesome Panini from the cutest bakery. The food they cook in the center is pretty atrocious, but at least the rest of London’s food is great! A quick note on the desserts: they are the best dang thing I have ever put it my mouth (other than mom’s cooking, or course…..)
But we do this thing in my writing class called WWW, where we wander, witness, and write about anything we see in London. We just walk aimlessly around the city in small groups with a notebook, stop randomly and write whatever comes to mind. The only downside is that we have to share it with our group every time after… haha good thing I’ve never been too shy.
Tonight I got to experience Oxford Street for the first time. Brady was right, I will love Oxford Street. It’s pretty close to us from the tube, so I’m sure we’ll go often. I only saw one H&M, but I am dedicated to visiting all of them on that street in one day. Then I went with a different group of girls to a creperie. Mom, you would have DIED and gone to heaven in that little shop.
Oh, and guess what?! I think I’m going to Prague for my travel week. And ….. drumroll please…. I bought tickets to London for a couple of weekends from now. I have my Chunnel ticket, and seven of us are sharing a hotel room built for 4/5. In Paris, I can guarantee that will be a Squeeze. Oh, the adventures of being young. Good thing I am so experienced sleeping on the floor.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Primary Round II
This morning I got to my new ward for the first time, and I feel like I have the best ward in the entire program. Seriously. Like, way true. For reals. Getting there was a tad bit interesting, though. It’s Geoff, Paige, and I in the Mitcham Ward. They’re remodeling our building, so this is our only Sunday at their real building. From now on, we’re meeting at the stake center at the dreadful hour of 14-17:00.
Unfortunately, Geoff thought that this crazy schedule applied to this week as well, so we had to wake him up when we realized that he was late and nobody had seen him yet. Oops! So we ran to the tube, got to the Victoria station where we were to catch a train to the Mitcham Junction. Luckily, the wait wasn’t too long for the next train, since we missed the original one. From Mitcham junction, we had to explore and find the tram station, then take a tram to Mitcham. Once arriving in Mitcham, we rendered our map hopeless and had to wander to find our ward building.
You may ask, “How embarrassing would it be to walk into a new ward for the first time forty minutes late?” Then add on the fact that we had to walk in from the back to the very front row. Then realize that there were only two other white people in the whole room. Let me answer, “Extremely embarrassing.” Then, the Bishop paused the meeting and invited us to come to the pulpit, introduce ourselves, and bear our testimonies. Horrifying. Luckily, the ward is amazing, though, and I get to be a Jr. Primary teacher to the cutest children in the entire world. Seriously though, so so so SO cute! The little girls have the cute little braids, big eyes, huge smiles, and silly
little giggles. Couldn’t be happier about that.
Now, I get to look forward to a devotional tonight, then skyping mom and dad! Yay!!! I’ll probably be skyping every Sunday night here, so if you ever want a chance to skype me, be online on skype between 12-4 in the afternoon Sundays, and I’ll hope to catch you! My Skype name is Carly_flamm Add me!
Unfortunately, Geoff thought that this crazy schedule applied to this week as well, so we had to wake him up when we realized that he was late and nobody had seen him yet. Oops! So we ran to the tube, got to the Victoria station where we were to catch a train to the Mitcham Junction. Luckily, the wait wasn’t too long for the next train, since we missed the original one. From Mitcham junction, we had to explore and find the tram station, then take a tram to Mitcham. Once arriving in Mitcham, we rendered our map hopeless and had to wander to find our ward building.
You may ask, “How embarrassing would it be to walk into a new ward for the first time forty minutes late?” Then add on the fact that we had to walk in from the back to the very front row. Then realize that there were only two other white people in the whole room. Let me answer, “Extremely embarrassing.” Then, the Bishop paused the meeting and invited us to come to the pulpit, introduce ourselves, and bear our testimonies. Horrifying. Luckily, the ward is amazing, though, and I get to be a Jr. Primary teacher to the cutest children in the entire world. Seriously though, so so so SO cute! The little girls have the cute little braids, big eyes, huge smiles, and silly
little giggles. Couldn’t be happier about that.
Now, I get to look forward to a devotional tonight, then skyping mom and dad! Yay!!! I’ll probably be skyping every Sunday night here, so if you ever want a chance to skype me, be online on skype between 12-4 in the afternoon Sundays, and I’ll hope to catch you! My Skype name is Carly_flamm Add me!
Central Parks
So today was crazy! We didn't have scheduled breakfast at eight, but we still had a full day ahead of us. Since I'm such a deep sleeper, everyone was already awake and dressed for the day before I got up. Nobody knows how this is possible, since my bunk is in the center of the room and parallel to their closets hehe!
We went and got these amazing smoothies at Crussh, which is like Jamba Juice, but better. I got some peach one, with peaches, bananas, and orange juice. Bliss. Then we rushed to get on the tube and ran to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. It was so crowded! But we got to see all of the little men with their crazy hats marching down the streets and hear all of the ceremonial music. From there, we did a walk through all of London's Central Parks for our "London Walks" class. We started by Buckingham Palace, walked through St. James's Park where they used to keep elephants, saw the Wellington Arch, a First World War memorial, we walked through Green Park, walked the length of the Serpentine, then walked through Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens where we even got to see the Peter Pan statue.
By the end of this 4 mile walk, we were quite tired and cold, so my new friend Jamie and I took a little break in the center for a little while. But the day was nowhere near over… A group of us hopped onto the tube together so we could be on time to “The Lady in Black.” (It’s this scary play with only two actors in the whole show. You’d think it would be weird, or even boring with only two actors, but it was incredible well done. Seriously, it was way scary.) But on our way there, our train totally just stops in the middle of this tunnel right before our stop. Aka stranded. It was only there a few minutes, but we were already rushing to be on time since some of our girls walk so slow. We finally get out of the tube, and run up to find that the theatre wasn’t in sight. Our professor told us it was right there, but if you didn’t see it, to just ask anyone and they could point it out. Lies. Nowhere to be seen. Nobody knew where it was. We seriously sprinted around the streets trying to find it. It was embarrassing to be late, but it was fine. The show must go on, right?
When we got out of our matinee, it was totally dark outside, as always. It gets dark so early here!! I joined with a different group and we explored this Covent Gardens/Central market until we found this great little pizza place for dinner. They wouldn’t let us order tap water since there were five of us sharing two pizzas (mean waitress… too bad we still tipped her super well) but it was still really fun. And Brady, we even got Ben’s cookies. Yummmmmy!
I feel like I have been here for weeks, since we have crammed so much into such a small amount of time! Seriously, I couldn’t even tell you what I did last night or who I was with 24 hours ago. All I know is that everyone here is wonderful. I am so excited to have classes with one of the professors here, Professor Crowe. He is absolutely adorable and you would all love him. Yes, I just added him as a friend on Facebook. Judge me.
We went and got these amazing smoothies at Crussh, which is like Jamba Juice, but better. I got some peach one, with peaches, bananas, and orange juice. Bliss. Then we rushed to get on the tube and ran to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. It was so crowded! But we got to see all of the little men with their crazy hats marching down the streets and hear all of the ceremonial music. From there, we did a walk through all of London's Central Parks for our "London Walks" class. We started by Buckingham Palace, walked through St. James's Park where they used to keep elephants, saw the Wellington Arch, a First World War memorial, we walked through Green Park, walked the length of the Serpentine, then walked through Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens where we even got to see the Peter Pan statue.
By the end of this 4 mile walk, we were quite tired and cold, so my new friend Jamie and I took a little break in the center for a little while. But the day was nowhere near over… A group of us hopped onto the tube together so we could be on time to “The Lady in Black.” (It’s this scary play with only two actors in the whole show. You’d think it would be weird, or even boring with only two actors, but it was incredible well done. Seriously, it was way scary.) But on our way there, our train totally just stops in the middle of this tunnel right before our stop. Aka stranded. It was only there a few minutes, but we were already rushing to be on time since some of our girls walk so slow. We finally get out of the tube, and run up to find that the theatre wasn’t in sight. Our professor told us it was right there, but if you didn’t see it, to just ask anyone and they could point it out. Lies. Nowhere to be seen. Nobody knew where it was. We seriously sprinted around the streets trying to find it. It was embarrassing to be late, but it was fine. The show must go on, right?
When we got out of our matinee, it was totally dark outside, as always. It gets dark so early here!! I joined with a different group and we explored this Covent Gardens/Central market until we found this great little pizza place for dinner. They wouldn’t let us order tap water since there were five of us sharing two pizzas (mean waitress… too bad we still tipped her super well) but it was still really fun. And Brady, we even got Ben’s cookies. Yummmmmy!
I feel like I have been here for weeks, since we have crammed so much into such a small amount of time! Seriously, I couldn’t even tell you what I did last night or who I was with 24 hours ago. All I know is that everyone here is wonderful. I am so excited to have classes with one of the professors here, Professor Crowe. He is absolutely adorable and you would all love him. Yes, I just added him as a friend on Facebook. Judge me.
Friday, January 7, 2011
bloggin in mcdonalds.....
So here I am in a Mcdonalds :) strange people keep walking past and looking at my friends' computers as they skype on their computers hehehe! Luckily, I'm working from my iPod right now and can avoid the awkwardness.
The journey began by frantically gathering all of my belongings into my suitcases Tuesday morning, and I had to be at the airport at one. Oops. Right before getting in the car we realize my camera ran away from me the night before and was hiding out in a car in Provo. Luckily my moms the best and sent me with her camera and she'll use mine while I'm gone. Thanks mom!! Buy we got to the airport and I said goodbye to my thirty dollar phone. It was fun having Adam come with is to the airport.
We saw Liz in the airport with her family, then our friend Devon who is amaIng and here in London with is. THen we were off!
We flew through Dallas and met up with over londoners there. Our flight attendant on our way called me 'yes yes' since I was confused and bad at conversation when I woke up from my nap and he was trying to get me dinner. Hehe I slept on Liz's lap for like six hours!! And I slept on the entire diest flight too!
K well here's the fun part. We had a bus booked for us when we got our bags then we were off to the center.
I live on like the ninth floor! Agh!! So so many stairs to get to my room :) but so good for Me. We unpacked then went on a walk through Hyde park. We saw Kensington palace and went on a walk around our neighborhood. After a few hours, we were pooped. But it was fun because we had sunlight for a while! We saw a circular pond with tons of geese and ducks and swans! It was fun getting to know the girls. We ran into the Hyde Park Chapel where we might have church and where we definitely have our religion class.
The next day, we woke up, had orientation, then we were free for the day. We went to get lunch at Nandos which was way good. Then we went to get our "Oyster" cards for the tube and went and bought internet cards for our computers since the internet here is DREADFUL (hence Mcdonalds) and went to "Boots" to get shampoo so we could shower, and as always, explored. After coming back for dinner etc, I went with a different group of girls and we went exploring to find a good place for dessert. We ended up at this waffle place. Hello world, Carly chose to eat CHOCOLATE CAKE. What??! Carly? Choosing chocolate?! MMm :) It was delicious.
This morning, we did lots of cool things. We went to see the London Tower. I saw the bloody tower where lots of people were executed, and went to see the crown jewels, and went to the old ammunition storage building. Haha it was so funny! This security guard who worded at the armory made best friends with me and my friend Kinsie. Seriously. He said I had an excellent accent, but it sounds a little posh. He went with us to three different floors telling us stories about the backgrounds of all of these crazy exhibits. Don't worry, we have a picture with him and this midget armor. But then we saw Big Ben (and Becs, I thought of You) and went to the Westminster Abbey. It rocked! I freaking saw Charles Dickens' grave. Wild. My computer's seriously about to die, but if I have more time later, I'll tell you then. If not, there will be tons of other interesting things to tell you all later. But we have taken the tube everywhere, and it's a blast. Last night, I even found this mall with a huge H&M. I'm excited to go there. And European fanta is just as good as I remembered.
Pictures soon, hopefully! I love you all and miss you all, but this is amazing! I wish you could all be here with me!!
The journey began by frantically gathering all of my belongings into my suitcases Tuesday morning, and I had to be at the airport at one. Oops. Right before getting in the car we realize my camera ran away from me the night before and was hiding out in a car in Provo. Luckily my moms the best and sent me with her camera and she'll use mine while I'm gone. Thanks mom!! Buy we got to the airport and I said goodbye to my thirty dollar phone. It was fun having Adam come with is to the airport.
We saw Liz in the airport with her family, then our friend Devon who is amaIng and here in London with is. THen we were off!
We flew through Dallas and met up with over londoners there. Our flight attendant on our way called me 'yes yes' since I was confused and bad at conversation when I woke up from my nap and he was trying to get me dinner. Hehe I slept on Liz's lap for like six hours!! And I slept on the entire diest flight too!
K well here's the fun part. We had a bus booked for us when we got our bags then we were off to the center.
I live on like the ninth floor! Agh!! So so many stairs to get to my room :) but so good for Me. We unpacked then went on a walk through Hyde park. We saw Kensington palace and went on a walk around our neighborhood. After a few hours, we were pooped. But it was fun because we had sunlight for a while! We saw a circular pond with tons of geese and ducks and swans! It was fun getting to know the girls. We ran into the Hyde Park Chapel where we might have church and where we definitely have our religion class.
The next day, we woke up, had orientation, then we were free for the day. We went to get lunch at Nandos which was way good. Then we went to get our "Oyster" cards for the tube and went and bought internet cards for our computers since the internet here is DREADFUL (hence Mcdonalds) and went to "Boots" to get shampoo so we could shower, and as always, explored. After coming back for dinner etc, I went with a different group of girls and we went exploring to find a good place for dessert. We ended up at this waffle place. Hello world, Carly chose to eat CHOCOLATE CAKE. What??! Carly? Choosing chocolate?! MMm :) It was delicious.
This morning, we did lots of cool things. We went to see the London Tower. I saw the bloody tower where lots of people were executed, and went to see the crown jewels, and went to the old ammunition storage building. Haha it was so funny! This security guard who worded at the armory made best friends with me and my friend Kinsie. Seriously. He said I had an excellent accent, but it sounds a little posh. He went with us to three different floors telling us stories about the backgrounds of all of these crazy exhibits. Don't worry, we have a picture with him and this midget armor. But then we saw Big Ben (and Becs, I thought of You) and went to the Westminster Abbey. It rocked! I freaking saw Charles Dickens' grave. Wild. My computer's seriously about to die, but if I have more time later, I'll tell you then. If not, there will be tons of other interesting things to tell you all later. But we have taken the tube everywhere, and it's a blast. Last night, I even found this mall with a huge H&M. I'm excited to go there. And European fanta is just as good as I remembered.
Pictures soon, hopefully! I love you all and miss you all, but this is amazing! I wish you could all be here with me!!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Less than 48 hours!!
So I'm leaving for London in less than two days. Freaking out. So excited. AhhH!!!! I'm secretly a little nervous, but shhh.. it's a secret! Liz Bevan, aka Bevs, is the perfect person to start this adventure with; it will be an epic tale of living, growing, learning, and laughing. All I have to say is, "Watch out, London, Here I Come!!!"
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