Oh Hello London!

So once upon a time I decided to go to London. It was a crazy whirlwind applying for the program, and it was agonizing waiting to see if I was accepted. And now here I am across the world in a magical place they call London. I can't wait to see everything this place has to offer (well, everything I can see in the few weeks I'll be here).

It's crazy being here in a new place and being unable to call it home (yet) or call home. In many ways this is the first time I've ever really been away from home (school was never far, I lived at home in the summers and this last semester, I had a phone, etc.) and it's exciting and scary at the same time. I'm sure my feelings were much the same when I moved out for the first time, and I'm sure that I'll come to love London and feel comfortable here, but for now I miss home a little bit.

On the other hand, however, London is GORGEOUS! Oh my goodness there are photogenic buildings and trees and walls and gates everywhere I turn! I was too busy looking for a store at which I could purchase an adapter (because everywhere you go in the world they have a different type of outlet)--Tyler's Hardware has them, by the way--and trying to seem less like a tourist to take pictures today, but I'll try to get some good ones tomorrow.

I'm staying in this beautiful flat BYU has and I adore it. There are six girls in our room and the view from the window is wonderful. The only downside is that there are eighty-two stairs that lead to it. My calves and thighs are burning by the time I get to the last flight of stairs. My goal is to not be winded by the time I get to my room at the end of the program.

The only pictures I got were at the airport:

So many polka dots! I didn't realize JUST how polka dotted I was until I was boarding my first flight and the man behind me said something. What can I say? They're pretty great.

 One of my first looks at England. I'm a fan.

That's it for now! I think I've finally managed to stay up late enough that I won't be waking up at three o'clock in the morning.

Cats or Dogs?

Any time someone asks me, "cats or dogs?" I say "birds." I suppose I find it a little bit funny, but it's also true. I'm allergic to the other two choices, and birds sing.

If I were ever to get a pet it would be a canary. And his name would be Mortimer. I think small things deserve big names sometimes.

Drizzly Days, Drowsy Days

Today is a drizzly day. The sky is a steady grey and it seems to go on forever: unchanging, uninterrupted, unending. It's actually sort of pretty as long as my observations continue to be made from a window.

You can only see the raindrops if you look for them against the wet, black, boughs of the trees and everything is cloaked in the misty haze of raindrops. Their quiet tapping drowns out the normal noises a bit making the day seem quieter somehow. Softer. Almost like the world itself is wearing a sweater.

Drizzly days like this have always made me sleepy. The best things I can conceive of involve books and soft blankets and a pillow or three. Drizzly days like these are to be enjoyed.

Birdsong

Today was Monday. And usually Mondays in February are pretty rough and dreary days. This year, however, Mother Nature has decided to bless us with a taste of spring.

As I was walking across campus today I stopped and looked up for a minute at the birds flitting from tree to tree, and making the happiest sort of music. They felt springtime too.

I smiled to myself because birds are pleasant animals to hear, and I noticed that everyone walking by me had headphones in. I wanted to tug on their jackets and tell them that the song the birds were creating was more awe-inspiring than whatever was in their earbuds, but I didn't. I figured it wouldn't be appreciated.

But I had the accompaniment of birdsong on my walk home, and the clouds were splitting into a thousand rays of light and I decided that today was an incredible day.

Today, in February, we experienced spring. And you know? I'm so glad we did.

The French Phenomenon

Last night I was talking to a friend and she mentioned something about everyone having a pie chart. She was talking specifically about love interests, but I think her theory applies broadly to all areas of life. Everyone has a pie chart, and that pie chart is constantly changing so that certain areas that were nearly monopolizing your thoughts yesterday are eclipsed by something entirely different today.

This week I've felt that my pie chart is all out of whack. I should be focusing on school and books and I should be internalizing all my learning so I can remember and apply it forever and ever. But that's not how it's been. Instead I've been focused on being tired and wanting to sleep and read and watch movies and go hiking and do anything that doesn't involve school. Actually that's not entirely true. I really love learning and I love my major. I just don't want to have anything to do with my French class. I've tried adopting the somewhat childish mentality that, if I just ignore it, it'll go away, but that hasn't been the case at all.

In fact, quite the opposite has happened and, in spite of all the other things floating around in my mind, I have the black cloud of French floating around, reminding me that it's there. It's very distracting, you know. And I try to brush it away, but it's a cloud and so I just stir it around a bit and it remains, ever-present.

I was talking to my mom about this class shortly after sitting down after one of the readings where I realized that I hadn't understood anything and I told her that I don't think I'm quite cut out for this. She told me that that's how I know I'm really in college and that I'm really doing something that will help me. I suppose she's right because growth is never comfortable, but I really need to figure out a better strategy soon. Because I have a test tomorrow and I would really prefer not to fail.




Also, I was looking for an image of a black cloud that I liked on the Internet and this pulled up and I thought it was pretty. So it's completely unrelated to the above post, but enjoy it nonetheless. Or enjoy it because of its random placement. I don't really mind either way.

Chips and Salsa

Chips and salsa is one of my favorite things in the whole world. If you were to ask me if I wanted to go get pasta or chips and salsa I would choose the latter (which is saying a lot because pasta is my favorite meal ever). If you asked me if I would prefer cupcakes or chips and salsa, I would absolutely choose chips and salsa. If you were to ask me if I would rather have ice cream or chips and salsa-- Actually that's too hard of a choice. I would choose both.

Anyways. Chips and salsa, my friends. It is the most wonderful combination there ever was. I always want it. If you replace "tacos, enchiladas, and beans" with chips and salsa in this song you would pretty much understand my feelings.

I made salsa last night and I ate it as soon as I came home from school. The chips were so broken up that it was tough using them as a means of getting salsa into my mouth. So I made chips and salsa "cereal" and I ate it with a spoon. If you are also a salsa-lover and have not yet tried this I wholeheartedly recommend it. Or just get chips and salsa as soon as possible and enjoy them in the conventional way. Either way, partake of the happiness. Because, really, that's what it is.

The Most Wonderful of Fridays

Today was the most wonderful of Fridays.

Nothing big and remarkable happened except for the fact that it was Friday, I was able to talk to some of my favorite people on the earth, the lighting was perfect for the photos I took in my mind, I made brownies, I cleaned, and listened to the the entirety of the Into the Woods soundtrack, and I smiled. I laughed, and I lived.

In a movie I saw someone pointed out the difference between living and simply not dying. That's an important distinction. Living requires noticing. Living is when you notice the way the sunlight catches on the frost in the morning and makes the asphalt look like stars. Living is dancing in the kitchen with your family to whatever music happens to be playing at the time. It's bedtime and reading your favorite childhood stories to your little sister. Living is when you smile at nothing and laugh because you're happy. Living is sharing with friends. Living is a beautiful thing.