Remember, Remember the fifth of November

Remember, remember the 5th of November
Gun Power, Treason and plot.
I see no reason why gun powder treason
Should ever be forgot!!!

I love Guy Fawkes Day!!!

(A little background: On the 5th of November 1605 Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament and ever since the England celebrate his failure with bonfires and fireworks)

To begin the day I woke up and took a lovely little humanities test...blah. Living in the same building as your professors and your classroom always makes test interesting.

After the test I headed out to tour Westminster Abbey.... a.k.a one big, dark, cold, graveyard of a Cathedral. But it was so cool to see where the past 38 rulers of England have had their coronations.

We truly have had amazing weather here in London. It has only rained a few times but it always seems as though it rains every day that I don't bring my umbrella or wear my rain boots....I'm not ok with this. I guess I just need to learn how to dress myself more appropriately.

I then headed out to Borough Market for some yummy lunch. I got the most delicious roast pork, with stuffing and apple sauce sandwich. It sounds interesting but it was DELICIOUS. It was like Thanksgiving on a sandwich.

Anne, Mila, Esther and Sarryn

Anne, Sarryn and I then hopped on a train and headed for Chelmsford, England. We spent the weekend there at a family friend house of Anne. The couple have the cutest little girls ever. They are Esther age 9, Marta age 7 and Mila age 4!! Sadly due to rain the big bonfire and fireworks party was canceled. So we stayed at the house and watched Enchanted! Love that movie!!!! Then had a little dance party with the girls.

Cute lil' Mila getting her grove on!

Saturday we had the most delicious french toast I've ever had! Then we headed to the park on the seaside. It was so fun to just run around at the park and play with the girls. We then got some yummy fish and chips. I have come to love fish and chips!

That night we headed to their ward bonfire night party. It was so fun to get the chance to mix and mingle with real English people, especially since they were all LDS!

Fireworks time!!!!!!!
American fireworks can NEVER compare to the amazingness of English fireworks. Think of a big professional firework show that your city puts on but in each persons backyard! Fireworks aren't illegal here at all. They don't do the dinky little fireworks that only come a foot off the ground but the big huge ones the shoot hundreds of feet in the air!
After the spectacular fireworks show they lit these "Chinese lanterns" that filled up with smoke then floated up into the night sky. They were really pretty.

Chinese Lantern

Us with the little girls! 

The owner of the house then gave us Americans a tour of his 400 year old thatched roof house. So cool. I can't even imagine living in a 400 year house. They have definitely updated some things but it is a beautiful house.

We then got dropped off at the train station and told that trains into London come every 15 minutes. We got into the station to find that all tracks into London where closed due to planned maintenance. So inconvenient. We were forced to take a train to another location then catch a replacement bus that took us to the VERY end of the central line and rode all the way on the West end of London. It took forever and it was late at night. It took us forever to get back to the centre but it was worth the hassle for the amazingly fun weekend.

Cheers

Synagogues and Symphonies

On Thursday (Nov. 4) after classes we all headed to the West End Synagogue that happens to be right down the street from us. This is an Orthodox Jew Synagogue. In our religion class this week we learn all about Judaism then we went to tour the synagogue. It was really interesting to be in a place of worship that had no symbolic or literal reference to Christ, especially after seeing about 100 Cathedrals the past couple of months. I also thought it was interesting  how Judaism has been frozen in time for the past 2000 years, never moving  forward or progressing.
The interior of the Synagogue was beautiful though. Our tour was given by one of the members and he showed us the Torah which is written in Hebrew.

Thursday night we went to the SYMPHONY!
It was the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall. They performed music from several periods. The works performed were written by Handel, Dvorak, Mozart, and Janacek . Being at the symphony really made me miss playing the cello....it is just so beautiful!!

Cheers

Tea Time at Oxford

This Oxford filled week began with a fireside last Sunday night. Reverend Doctor Ralph Waller came and spoke to us at the fireside. He is the Principal of the Harris Manchester College of Oxford. He liked us so much that he invited us for afternoon tea at Oxford with him on Wednesday. 

Tuesday afternoon Lisa and I finally went and toured the Tower of London. We missed doing this with the group when we went to Germany... back in September :)

We had an awesome tour by the Beefeaters. 

Then  saw the Crown Jewels which includes the largest cut diamond in the world. It's over 500 carats, with perfect cut, clarity, color and carat.

Lisa and I with the Beefeater

Day Trip

Our trip on Wednesday started at C.S. Lewis's grave at the Parish Church he attended. There is a plaque on the pew that he always sat on. 

We then went to see Winston Churchill's grave at another parish church.

 We then went at sawwhere Winston Churchill was born, Bleinheim Palace.

Backside of the Palace

Front of the Palace

After all that the real fun began. The coach dropped us off and we were set free to explore Oxford University. This is not your typical college campus. Oxford is a large city with people everywhere! Of coarse the first thing on everyone's list was to go see Christ Church College. The dining hall there is the Great Hall for Harry Potter. Of coarse it was closed until 2:30 pm so we went and explored other parts of campus and bought Oxford sweatshirts.

We also hiked up St. Mary's Church to get a Birdseye view of Oxford.

Harry Potter MANIA!!!! We finally got into the Great Hall and I felt like I had walked right into Hogwarts. Also, the stairs leading up to the hall is where a scene from the 2nd film was filmed. So AMAZING!

THE GREAT HALL

And of coarse we had EPIC wizardly duels. I won them all, obviously!

Afternoon tea with Dr. Wallar was wonderful. We had cute little sandwiches, variety of sweets and elderflower juice. Yummy! He is such a nice man. I felt so proper having afternoon tea with an Oxford Headmaster!!!

To end the day, Lisa and I took a picture with our Oxford Professor, Dr. Waller!!!

Cheers!

BOOO.....Happy HaLlOwEeN!!!

The Londoners may not know how to celebrate Halloween but those of us at 27 Palace Court sure do!

Overall it was a great night! Hope you all had an amazing Halloween as well!

Cheers

Cymru = Wales......Wait, WHAT?!?!

Who knew that while on a study abroad you actually have to study?!?! 
The first part of my week was filled with studying, a Jane Austen test, Bible Essay, more studying, a religion test, all mixed in with all our other normal assignments. Blah!

Last Thursday we packed up and headed on out for Wales at 6:30 IN THE MORNING!!!! Meaning that breakfast was at 5:15. I was not a fan of that. But oh well, it was worth it.

The first thing we saw was Tintern Abbey. These are more ruins created by King Henry VIII. I hate him for ruining all the old churches throughout England. Sadly it was raining so the professors didn't let us off the coach. 

The next stop was the BIG PIT COAL MINE!!!! This place was a lot of fun. As you can see, we got to wear awesome head lamps and heavy battery packs. To bad my light died as soon as we went down the shaft yet I still had to carry the heavy pack around. It was really interesting to see what the coal mines are like but I'm glad I will never have to work in a coal mine. I totally felt like I was in District 12 from the Hunger Games. To bad Gale wasn't there.....

So while on this study abroad I have learned how to see a site quickly and efficiently. Since we go to so many cool sites we only have a little time at each site. We were all a little surprised when we pulled up to the Museum of Welsh Life: Outdoor Museum and were informed that we had 2 1/2 HOURS!!!!!! We didn't even have that much time for the entire city of Bath!
It ended up being really awesome and I enjoyed every minute of it. This "museum" is an outdoor exhibit of Welsh homes throughout the years. Beginning from a Celtic Village that dates to about 250 BC all the way to present day homes. One of the awesome tour guides taught me how to say good afternoon in Welsh.... p'noun da......The Welsh language is BIZARRE!!!! It looks and sounds crazy! As you can see from my post title, it's a weird language. How do you get Wales from Cymru?
I love the fall here in England/Wales!! It is absolutely gorgeous as you can see in some of the pictures.

Liz and I at the Celtic Village

Part of a carnival at the outdoor museum

I LOVE FALL!!!!

We stayed in Cardiff Thursday night. Thankfully we didn't stay in another hostel. For the first time ever the professors picked our roommates from a hat. They have never been able to do that before with past programs because none of the previous groups have ever been as AWESOME as us! We all get along so well. I truly love every single girl here on the program. They are all so amazing and I'm learning so much from all of them.

Friday was jammed pack with spiritual experiences!

Benbow Farm:

Wilford Woodruff came to proselyte in Herefordshire where he stayed with John and Jane Benbow. He baptized them along with about 600 people in the pond at the Benbow farm. John and Jane Benbow later helped to fund the publication of the Book of Mormon and paid for 40 newly baptized Mormons to immigrate to Utah! They were amazing people and being at the pond was an incredible experience.

Sarryn, Anne and I at the Benbow Pond

The Benbow Home

 After a short but steep hike we made it to the top of Malvern Beacon. This is the windiest place I've even been in my life. It was crazy how windy it was and I almost lost my scarf on several occasions.

 Dr. Seeley talked to us about what occurred here and the symbolism behind it. That man is so amazing. As soon as he starts crying so do I and about 30 other girls!!

We grabbed lunch in Ledbury. I got Turkey and Stuffing potato chips, which were so bizarre. The British sure make some very interesting chips.

We stopped at the Dymock Parish Church. I'm not quite sure about why but Dr. Tate sure loved this place! And it was pretty.

The last stop on the way back to London was the Gadfield Elm Chapel. This is technically the first Mormon Chapel ever. The saints meet here between 1838-1840. Our professors planned a wonderful program for us and we all sang lots of hymns together. 

Father Seeley and Saint Tate

Me and Gadfield Elm Chapel

 I had such an amazing and spiritual uplifting day.... then as soon as we were back in London I read about 6 people magazines!! One of the girl's moms sent her a package filled with goodies. I have missed my People magazines so much and feel so out of the loop with the world. I loved how excited everyone was over getting the People magazines!!

Nikki and her People

Cheers.