English Words:

Here are some words that we used in London and I thought you might like to learn them and so you can use them too!

Alight- Exit
Coach- Hired bus
Lolly- sucker
Ice lolly- popcicle
Zebra Crossing- Crosswalk
Humped Zebra- crosswalk with a speedbump
Carpark- parking lot
Post- mail
Dummy- pacifier
Chips- fries
Crisps- chips
Motorway-freeway
Rubbish- trash
Que- Line
Biscuts- cookies
Lift- elevator
Plasters- bandaids
Take away- take out
Toilet/wc/loo/ bathroom
Torch-Flashlight
Napkin/nappy -diaper
Quid- bucks

Final Finals!!!

So on Monday we had our finals. I had stayed up until 3 the past two night and got up early and so I was lucky that I was able to even get through them. I studided all morning, took my Political Science/History final (I think I did ok, not sure though. But if you ever need to know about any monarchs and what they did, I'm your man!) I then studied some more and I took my English final (not sure how it went, I'll get back to ya). We finished our finals at 5 and then we had dinner at 5:30, where we had a pizza party. Delicious.
And then they surprised us with Ben's Cookies! YAY! A great way to end finals.
It was such a relief to be done with finals and so we decided to get out of the center (since none of us had been outside ALL day). We decided to head to Kensington Gardens and walk around one last time.
While we were there we made one last stop at, "our favorite place in the whole of London". Aka, the Peter Pan statue.
We then walked along Queensway and we took pictures of everything so we could remember it all including McDonalds, Tesco and the Tube Station. And of course we had to stay up talking and using up our last minutes...and so I went to bed at 2am! :)

Last Sunday!

Sunday morning I woke up exhausted from going to bed so late. My hair was also still wet and so I didn't have a lot of time to get ready and so I had to put my hair up (I am proud to say it’s the first time I have this whole trip!) We headed to church this week with no troubles, YAY!

Church was great as the London Mission President and his wife spoke in Sacrament Meeting. Yay for fellow Americans. Sunday School was also good but the whole time I was thinking of my lesson and how nervous I was to teach it.

I then went to Relief Society and they introduced me as "Sister Abagail". Haha. I then got up and gave my lesson. It was on the life of Christ and I talked about different stories in his life, the characteristics/attributes he exemplified and how we can apply them in our own life. It went suprisingly well. Everyone contributed with great comments, they read the scriptures and the quotes I wanted too. I was pleased and got many compliments. What a great experience.

Afterwards we went and took pictures around our "church building" so we could remember it and we said goodbye to the ward.
(This is where we had Sacrament Meeting...it is the school gym).
(This is the foyer of the church, if you will). When we got back we relaxed, studied, had a wonderful "last supper" as a group and then we had a devotional that night. It was a testimony meeting and I cried so hard. And then of course we ended with "God Be With You 'Till We Meet Again", which made me cry even more. We then had big bugging fests and cried some more. Oh how I will miss London, the people here and the experience I have had!

We then were tired and didn't want to study and so we went a little crazy and danced around our room and took pictures of our room and the center so we could remember it. I even got a picture of Tiffany getting ready for bed and she was so mad! :)

I went to bed that night at…3 AM!!! (See a trend here?)

Guess Who I Saw?!?

Saturday morning Chelsea and I got up early and headed to Portabello Market to get a few last minute things. It was so fun to check out all the little shops and see the cute antiques. We didn't buy anything but it was still fun to look.

We then headed to the "Trooping of the Colors" where they have a parade for the Queen for her birthday. Many people went and camped out early but we just went later after we shopped. We heard the Queen was leaving Buckingham Palace at 10:45 and so Chelsea and I showed up at 10:30, perfect. We stood at Buckingham and had pretty decent standing area. It was so crowded though.


We watched and were able to see Prince Harry!!! And then we were able to see the QUEEN!!! I am kind of far away but I saw them and that’s all that matters. Here are the pictures I took. I zoomed in and cropped so you can actually see their faces.

We had such a hard time getting through the crowds and getting back to the tube. It was so crazy!
I then shopped for a little, got some last minute souvenirs and other items and then I headed back to the center…to study for finals. It was our "reading day" to prepare. (And for these finals 1 day was not enough, 1 month wouldn't have been enough!) But we did take breaks from studying to get dinner.

We then had review sessions that night in the classroom and then I studied more and finished up my Relief Society Lesson. I then also had to shower. So you may be asking, what time did I go to bed? 3 AM!!!

Miss Independent!

So life has been TOO crazy lately to blog! I am way behind and so here is to last Friday. We had classes in the morning (Last day of classes!!!) and then we went to Kew Gardens. It was rainy outside and so Chelsea let me borrow her jacket. Yay for new wardrobe!
We took a train there and then walked a little ways to the gardens. They were really pretty but we were all so exhausted from the week of school, trips and other stuff and so picture taking was lacking. We also look really tired, so don't judge. We walked around and saw greenhouses, gardens (duh) and other cool plant exhibits. Below I am standing in the Japanese Gardens. (Which I wasn't suppose to, but don't tell).
We then went to this cool place in the gardens called the "tree top walk". It was this huge bridge that went all throughout the trees. I was so suprised I climed up it, it was so high!
This is me putting on my "calm" face but I was not as calm as I look. There were slats underneath and so you could see all the way down, which scared me! (If you didn't know, I HATE HEIGHTS).
There were also some beautiful lakes, bridges and live animals. Aka, peacocks! What park do you know that has peacocks roaming around it?
Now I have to warn you...the information below may be shocking. It is not for the weak of heart, so read with care. Seriously.
So I have been trying to see the play les miserables for a while but days and times haven't worked. I planned to go with these 2 girls but when we planned to leave, neither of them were there to meet me at the center. Someone told me that the one girl had left already and so I just decided I would meet here there. I was late and so I got there at 7pm and the show started at 7:30. I asked if they had tickets and he said they did! I didn't know where it was but I was just happy to get a ticket. When I handed it to the man to rip he said, "These seats as really really really good!" I was excited. I sat in the first row on the first balcony. GREAT!
I sat down but I couldn't see anyone I knew. I searched forever but never found her. I was by myself. So, I asked some random person to take a picture of me at it, so I could document it.
The play was amazing! I loved it. I knew most of the music but I didn't know the story, and so it made it that much better. Definitely a favorite. I then realized I had to go home...by myself...in London, in the dark, at 10:30pm. I knew where I was going but I was just a little scared with it being dark. This is me running out of the play (scared) but trying to still get a picture with it in the background (this is why you go with people, so they can take pictures of you!)
I had to get on the Picadilly Line (which looks like Time Square) and it was jam packed with people, especially those getting ready for the "Football" game the next day. It was kind of crazy. The whole time I walked fast and sang "I am a child of God".
I made it safely on the tube and then got off on Queensway. There was no one on the street except for this homeless man, a little scary. I (obviously) made it home safely. Though it was a little scary of an experience, it was also amazing. It felt so neat to be so independent and to know that I was confident enough to get myself around a huge major city. Though I never plan to do it ever again, don't worry mom!

Love, Aub

P.S. Finished Finals today!!! Yay! They about killed me and I haven't gone to bed before 3 the past couple nights, but life is great now that they are over!

Goals:

1.Study hard for finals
2.Pass Finals
3.See London
4.Plan a Relief Society Lesson
5.Fill out 2 massive study guides
6.Catch up on blog
7.Eat
8.To go to bed before 4am the next two days

Possible? We'll See.

Shopping Time!

So on Thursday we had class and A LOT of homework due (and class the next day with even more homework). So this meant that after class I stayed in and did homework until dinner (bummer). Then after dinner I knew that I had to get out of the center and so Stephanie and I headed out to buy some souviners. (I had bought a couple but I had to shop for my family and a couple more things for me). We decided to head to Picadilly Circus. (Doesn't London have the most fun names for places? They even have a place called "Elephant and Castle".) Though I have never been to Times Square in New York this is what I imagine it would kind of look like. The store we went to was called "Cool Britannia". It had a lot of fun things and everything LONDON!
I didn't get much there though because it was more on the expensive side and so I just decided to hit up the little shops along Queensway because they had a big selection for cheap.
Souviner shopping. Done.

Royalty For The Day!

On Wednesday we had an early day and then we went to Waterloo station where we took a train to Hampton Court Palace. I had seen it advertised on a lot of pamphlets and so I was excited to go see it.

It was the place where King Henry VIII lived and where he married Kathyrn and other cool things like that, that have to do with history! When we checked in they gave us headphones and they had these fun robes. We asked what they were for and they said we could wear them around the palace! Boo-Yah!
I had the hardest time picking which one to wear. They had green or red and then long or short. I finally ended up picking the short green one. I personally think it was a great choice!
The place was very interactive with many, many, many good photo spots. (Typical London) And so I will show you some of the great pictures we took! (See below):



They had so many fun interactive things to do there and they even had characters walking around the palace including the famous and favorite Henry VIII. We learned how to bow to royalty which was fun because whenever they walked by us we had to bow. As he walked by us he told us, "You have beauty in abundance." His squire said, "They have beauty where??? Oh, in abundance". Haha.
They also had fun performances going on and so we went to one where we helped Kathryn pick out her wedding dress. I was choosen from the audience to go up to the front and model one of the bonnet choices that she could wear with her dress.
I modeled it so well (or so I like to think) that my bonnet was choosen to be worn for her wedding. Yay!

We then went outside to the big, beautiful and perfect gardens. They were amazing and so fun to walk around in. Once we got to a certain place in the gardens we looked back and saw the house...and it looked exactly like Pride and Prejudice! No lie! (You can kind of tell by looking behind me).
We then went to a Maze that they had created in the gardens with all the huge shrubs and bushes. It is supposedly the worlds most famous maze...or so it claims.
It took us a while to get through it and then we made it to the center of the maze. By the center was the "cheater's" way out of the maze...and so we took it.
Afterwards we had dinner and then we went to the musical "Oliver" as a program, since they paid for it. It was SO fun! I loved it.
I didn't know really anything about the play, plot or any of the songs except for the line, "Please Sir, I want some more".
The little kids were amazing and had such pure and loud voices. I was shocked and enjoyed it the whole time and woke up the next morning singing, "Oliver, Oliver!"

BYU Pride!

So I was quickly just blog stalking (...which means I was not doing the homework which I was suppose to be doing. Ooops!) and I found these pictures! I was there when they took them (at the Beaumaris Castle) but didn't get it on my camera and so I was glad I found them and now I can share them with you. (Thanks for letting me steal them off your blog Kara!
I am in the letter "Y". I am the third one, where the middle line connects to the two side ones. Can you see me??? :)

Sadly I am not in this one, but it is still cool!

Running Out of Post Titles...

So on Tuesday I had class! YAY! (Only 2 more class periods...double YAY!!!)After class we headed to a required trip for my Political Science/History class to a place called the Banqueting House. It sounds a lot cooler than it really is.
It is basically the place where Charles II was beheaded for believing in "divine right of kings".
Afterwars Kristen and I went to Primark to get some last minute things and cheap souviners. And then we had an early dinner and then headed to a play called "War Horse" which was paid for by the program and so we went as a group.
It was an interesting play about a boy in World War I who loses his horse who is recruited for the war and so he enlists to find his horse. The horses were big and they were moved by people (they had sticks to move the horses head...so you could see the people...and then people inside the body to make it walk). It was cool to watch, a little long but overall good and the way the horses moved/were made was interesting.
The coolest part though of the whole night was that the Theater was on DRURY LANE!!!
Don't worry. We sang the song and we reenacted the scene from Shrek.
Gingerbread Man:"Do you know the muffin man?"
King: "The Muffin Man?"
Gingerbread Man: "THE MUFFIN MAN!"
King: "Yes, I know the Muffin Man. Who lives on Drury Lane?"

Last Day Trip On A Coach!

So on Monday we had a day trip (on a coach, which truthfully I don't think I will miss too much) and we first went to Dover and we went to Dover Castle. It was one of my favorites we have seen thus far!
We walked around outside first and below is what an really really old light house would have looked like!
Dover was so pretty with big white cliffs, the ocean and green hills (we even saw a couple of cruise ships coming in!). It is said that on a clear day you can see France across the way (I am going to say that I saw it, because I saw some brown stuff which could have been it)! Cool!

We then went inside the castle and had a fun time in all the rooms. They were decorated so fun and had a lot of interactive things to do, as we were able to sit in chairs, try on clothes and experience life as Royalty.


We then climbed all the way to the top of the castle (it was SO tall) and had a beautiful look out and view of everything. It was absolutly amazing to see! And...it was a tad windy! :)

Next we went to St. Augustine's Abbey which was all in Ruins. It was neat to see though and fun to walk around where the rooms would have been. And of course it made for some great pictures!


Lastly we went to Canterbury Cathedral (It is the Cathedral from "Canterbury Tales". It is the place where all of the people on the pilgrimage, telling their stories, are trying to get to).

We went and saw the place where Thomas Becket was killed in the Cathedral (which is the reason for the Pilgrimage). As you can tell, I am so excited!!!
For dinner that night a group of us girls went to a pub. Now before you get any wild ideas, a pub is different here in England. Yes, they serve beer but it is also a nice, sit down restraunt...you just order your food from the bar. I hadn't been to one yet and so I was interested to see what it was like. It was actually a lot of fun! And look what the name was...PHOENIX! Yay for AZ!