Holy Moley, once again time has flown by.

So let me catch you up to speed as fast as I can.


Thursday, we hoped on a coach and drove on down to Dorset for a school visit/tour. We passed Stonehenge on the way so I can say that I saw it and man was it far out. The whole trip was about three hours down to the coast. Our first school visit was to a religiously based publicish school. The whole student body was under 200 students so it was cool that everyone seemed to know each other. They were super friendly and our tour girl was only eleven but man she was so mature and polite I would have sworn she was older. We were greeted with a vegetarian friendly lunch sourced from local farms and man it was so good. Literally the best quiche I've ever had in my life. I want to find the village lady and ask her how she did it. After eating and the tour the students gave us a presentation about their town history. It was the original place for the original small pox cure because of cow pox. Pretty neato. The students also put together a presentation video for a partner middle school in Lubbock which was a neat way to bring the cultures together.

Loved the school all around. Students seemed happy and they had soccer fields and a natural park area and a pond with a green house to learn about nature and the environment. It was awesome. Also all open concept classrooms so that was something new to me and different.

Anyway, it was basically a really cute experience and the students were friendly and asked us many funny questions about Texas life and such.

After the school visit we went to our hotel to unwind before hoppin on the bus for a beach visit. The area was very nice, right on the shore and the beach was pebbled as opposed to traditional sand so a lot cleaner. We got fish and chips and attacked by some seagulls but that was fun and memorable. fish and chips were really fresh and we got ice cream after from some cute boys in a purple shack. I got a vanilla cone with the chocolate flake in it so I lived my dream goal right there.

After spending the evening strolling the beach we headed back to the hotel and passed out from the long day.

On friday we went to a boarding school that Dr. Shine's niece had gone to, not as a boarder tho. School was no longer in session so no students were there but it was still impressive to see. The school was absolutely huge, a giant maze of hallways and stairs. We never went down the same path twice. The rooms were like our American dorms and girls could begin boarding as early as 7. As they got older they got more freedoms and common areas to hang out so I imagine theirs a huge sense of community among the girls, though most come to learn English or as kids of people in the forces. What I found impressive was the grounds and how open and green they were and the pool they had to support their penta-track sport thing. I could imagine living there, I think it would be fun.


After the school tour we went to this castle and walked the market with Dr. Shine's niece because she worked for them. IT was really pretty and the first day that we really had rain and even then it was just a misty day for the most part. Was a nice walk around the grounds and we got to talk to shine and mitzy one on one in a more personal out of class fashion that was nice. When we wrapped that up and headed home we got stuck in hella traffic, our 3 hours drive turned into 6 hours of torture. WE ended up stopping at the Stonehenge gift shop cafe for food and restrooms, so I basically got the full experience there.

We ended up having to cancel our pub craw because of the timing of getting home so that was upsetting but we went back to the Mossy Well up the road and ate and had a few drinks. When we tried to leave these older guys started talking to us but we had to go and then when we walked out these older older dudes chatted us up about extending our visas and hooking up. It was interesting and unflattering. Then a guy offered us a smoke and we were just trying to leave. We would have avoided all this if we hadn't been getting lost. We also got off on the wrong bus stop and this guy walk over from the bench to say hi and one girl skirted away like a mouse behind the shortest girl and the guy got offended and started walking away. I apologized and asked how he was doing all things considered and he said alright. Offered me more weed to which I kindly declined and he laughed, as he drove off on the bus he pretended to take a drag. It was quite an amusing experience.

Anyway, we finally got home and all was well with the world.

On Saturday we took a day trip to Brighton and it was really great. Our guide was a Swedish man who was in a band and this was his side gig type of thing. He was really chill and funny, I liked his accent. Anyway, he took us to all the historical parts of brighten and filled us in on the history of the town. Apparently it used to be a huge weed growing plantation type deal and later it developed into a party area for londoners and no one really knows why it developed into the gay capital of the UK. I loved the water, it was beautiful and almost aqua blue despite being part of the Atlantic. We also learned about a conspiracy for burning the pier for insurance money and what not. Pretty dope stuff. Lots of history and artsy stuff. After the tour we went and got the best fish and chips yet, they were absolutely amazing. Super fresh and flavorful, i poured that vinegar on baby. We did some walking around the shops after that and then we wrapped everything up at a pub with a mural of dead muscitions. I got a vegetarian burger made from beets and chickpeas and wow, it was amazing. I was so surprised by how good it was, they really got this vegetarian thing down here.

The train ride back was easy peasy and we went to bed shortly after despite the early hour. Our itallian boys came in drunk around midnight and that was funny to listen to them stumbling around.


On sunday we went to Spittlefeld market and I did my first real round of shopping. It was a nice almost indoor market. I got a cute little matching outfit that was handmade by a lady and a belt that was measured to fit me, it is by far one of the best things ive ever bought myself for sure. I absolutely love it. Real leather and it smells so good. I also got my brother a wallet with his initials on it for his birthday, I think he'll enjoy it. I also got a butterfly drawing for my apartment and a bracelet for my mom that was hand made. Its one of the layering ones so i think she'll really like it. I gotta figure something out for my dad, he's a tricky one.

After Spittlefield we went to Camden and that was a shit show. Terrible market, over crowded and everything was pretty much tacky tourist items. It was miserable, we walked through and left pretty quick. After that we went home and hung out before ordering pizza for dinner. Pizza was great, made by a real ialiian fam so it was authentic. We also got a free bottle of wine with it and then kinda sorta also bought three more for the night..... It ended up being a really great night tho as we watched Friends With Benefits, honestly one of my new favorite movies. I looove Justin and Jackie, they're beautiful people and it was a funny and emotional movie.

Night ended with us feeling pretty good but Abby and Victoria woke up feeling pretty queasy for class. I felt gucci, just needed some coffee tbh. But monday went pretty well, we had class and afterwords went and toured the Westminster Abbey.

It was a beautiful building with lots of rich history. Amazing how much detail was put into it. Absolutely mental. And, there are over 3,500 people buried inside the building itself. Insane. ITs been around for over 1,000 years tho so it kinda makes sense. Anyway, we took the audio tour so it was really informative and interesting. After that wrapped up we went to the Ice bar that some other girls recommended to us.

IT was alright, the drinks were pretty meh

..... will continue later in a new post, just so much to write with so few time

Oh my lorde, How times flies. I didn't even realize it had been a week since my last post.

Well, lots has been happening.

Friday we went to Oxford and got to tour around there. That was great, a very prestigious college with lots of history. We had a lovely tour guide who knew all the ins and out. What I  found most interesting was the college of Fellows, it is so exclusive that theirs only three students there studying currently.

We also learned that university tuition is capped at 9,000 pounds which is crazy because that's not something we do here. And it was only just recently established at that high of a price.  Students also begin to specialize classes and careers at around 14 in secondary school where they begin to focus on about 3 subjects. Unheard of in America. We compared the different school systems a lot because in America we have basics that we still need to take through college. One major question we asked was whether the specialization was too early for kids in Europe to the point where it would be hindered if the kid later decided to make a career path change. Just some of the observations and discussions we've had.

In class we've discussed the theories and foundations from people like Piaget and Skinner. Interesting stuff, I'm at least familiar with most of it because of lifetime and psych classes so i feel that i'm able to keep up pretty well. In child guidance we've talked a lot about child rearing practices and developmental problems and strategies. Its interesting to hear the stories and such from an elementary teacher perspective, I feel i could apply a lot of it when I have my own kids but the professors even admit that in some situations they've slipped up and done something not quite recommended. Its a slippery slope, parenthood. I wont be dealing with that for a while tho, it does amaze me seeing all these things and watching videos and such and realizing how much goes into parenting. Makes me appreciate how well my parents did.

Alright, now that I've covered some of the class stuff onto the fun stuff.


On Saturday Lucy, Abby, and I went on an art/graffiti tour in east london. It was absolutely wonderful and felt like we wernt even london anymore. Our tour guide Olivia was fabulous, she knew so much and was so chipper. I even learned that graffiti/street art started in Italy with cave drawing that came to life under firelight. The whole east side was covered with graffiti art and we had a wonderful time there before going to a market. I got some great Mediterranean lamb kabbob thing and we walked around almost all day just looking at all the food varieties and little booths with everything from jewelry to spoons to clothes and everything in between. There was even a market booth bar with a bright orange VW van converted into a bar. Gosh she was beautiful.

The next day we did another tour to see the changing of the guards and St. James park ( the only religiously named park because of the monks who lived there) and other such stuff. Had a really sweet old man guide and we made friends with a south African family. The daughter was about 14 and she was being dropped off to the royal ballerina school. How amazing. They were so funny to watch. The brother was about 10 and he kept asking us about soccer players and I honesrly had no idea who all the Americans he listed were but he was so into it. Super fun family, very funny. I miss them.

After that tour we went to Portobello Market I think, we walked around there and got lost a whole bunch but we found the traditional style houses to look at before we met up with some other girls to get dinner at a beer garden. It was a good day, so much walking. Glad I brought good shoes. The weathers been so good though so that helps with all the walking and no ac. Honestly not bad at all not having it. The markets here are also just so huge, you walk the whole damn town and theirs still more to find. Insane, and so many happen during weekdays as well. I just dont understand it.


But I sure love it.

Monday after class we went to the imperial war museum. Its really cool that almost all the museums here are free, makes them more accessible and beneficial. We got to go through the whole WWI part and a special d-day picture exhibit with 10 pictures that were taken while they stormed the beach. Was insane. Really humbling. Crazy to see those things come to life in real photographs. We also got to go through majority of the holocaust section before getting kicked out for closing. What a great exhibit. Everything is very through and well presented there.


Tuesday after class we went to the lavender fields with Emily and Audrey for some pictures. It was really beautiful there, just rows upon rows of lavender. Got lots of cute pics but I would have liked to stay and walk the fields more. The girls were more focused on getting pictures of themselves for hours and then leaving so the bigger group things wasnt quite as fun. Had a good time there overall, just would have enjoyed some more in the moment time. Afterwords on the bus back we had a bunch of kids hop on coming from school. It was funny listening to their accents because they were more southern, not quite our southern tho lol. We went home after that and dropped our bags off before heading to the mossy well. Our home stay mom recommended it and it sure was good, cheap and good. Although we tried to order a cocktail pitcher but it was out of ice so that was sad  :/ We're going to try that again later.

So far I've tried bangers and mash, liver and onion, and traditional english breakfast at pubs and its all been good. I want try a meat pie next because people tell me thats an english must. We'll see, im trying to get the full culture experience with food stuff.

Today was really great, we had shortened classes and then went to visit a primary school. The school was so colorful and fun. so many stairways and separate buildings and jungle gyms and a natural wildlife exploratory zone. It was amazing. I can imagine being a kid there and having such fun. Their library was even in a converted bus. They had ducks and chickens and bunnies and a pond with fish. It was so cool all the opportunity and stuff they had there. The main focus for such young children wasn't education with facts and numbers, it was health, wellness, cultural stuff, and overall roundness. Very interesting and fun environment, You could clearly tell all the children were having fun and enjoying themselves.

Thats another interesting thing about london tho, less than 50% of their student population speaks english as their first language. Insane, these teachers have to put in so much work to help kids meet benchmarks, address cultural differences, and forge friendship. Its really beautiful what they do. The speaker warmed my heart with how he spoke and saw things as the wellness/pe coordinator. I absolutely enjoyed this trip and what we got out of it.


Gosh we really have done so much in such a short time that it completely blends together. Im sure I forgot a whole bunch as well but its been such a good time and we still have so much more planned. I'll keep you updated!

Adventure week

Wow, two posts in one day. Actually I forgot to post the other a few days ago so whoops.

Well, since my last writing much has happened. Actually, I'm not quite sure of where I left off and whats happened since. Everything blurrs together. But thats good, we've already done so much in a short time.

Lets see, I know I'm making friends with a group of about six, they're really fun and three of them live with me. We have Italian boys at our homestay and we've begun to slowly talk to them more but there is a bit of a language barrier there.

Each morning Christine fixes us toast and tea or coffee before we head off the the tube. I think I've figured out the tube rather fast, its like the dart but bigger so its not difficult getting to school. We had two great speakers the past two days discuss the UK education system, its interesting learning the similarities and differences.

Yesterday we went to a pub down the road about 5 minutes and had some sausage and mash, it was really good. Whatever juice they used was delish. There was definitely an older audience there so we really didn't talk to anyone, actually so far we haven't been able to find any locals to talk to but hopefully that will change. The style and acceptance here is definitely more lenient and I like the variety of expression.

We also went to Oxford street yesterday and walked through the shops, lots of cute stores and gift shops and higher end places. Definitely heavy foot traffic too. Lol and one shop had an upstairs where you could get drinks and patisseries and such. That was wild. The culture here is so relaxed.

Today after class we went to a farmers market a block away from class, lots of local food and small shops. I got a sandwich with some hella sharp cheddar cheese and fresh bread. It was really good and it was nice and hot outside so we sat outside in the lawn and ate with a group. I also got some raspberriess and that was a treat. Then we found a little ice cream shop and I got a raspberry ice cream that was so satisfying.

After that we walked around the British Museum for a few hours. Insane how big the place is. Its like each country had its own floor. I spent a lot of time in Egypt and Greece looking at their stonework and sculptures. It was crazy seeing these things come to life, the hieroglyphics and sculptures are nothing like the movies.

After that we came home and got our homework done, lots of chit chat and sat down and ordered a pizza with a bottle of wine. It was sour dough pizza, nice and thin crust. It was a nice way to chill out for the night.

Tomorrow we wake early for a trip to oxford so nothing big tonight. We made a lot of plans yesterday tho so its sure to get busy for me with everything we've booked.

Hello from across the pond!! Its late here so I don't have much time to elaborate on everything but so far we've had a great two days! My flight in was nice, didn't get much sleep overall but I'm used to that so it wasn't too hard to trudge through the day, I think I fared far better than the other girls who aren't quite as used to it. Anyway, I got to meet a lot of the girls at the airport and chat with them so it was nice to finally meet them. We took a charter bus to the AIFS headquarters and man do these Londoners drive like mad men. I'm convinced there are no road rules here, not even the whole drive on the left side, other than just do't hit anything. So that was quite an experience. Truly surprise all the cars we see so far have all their mirrors and no dents. Even in the states the cars are scuffed and dented. We took a cab to our homestay family and got to meet them, they're absolutely a hoot and I just love the style. Our house is crammed with the four of us, three Italian boys learning English, the owners Christie and Martin, and their older daughter and teenage son. It's wild but somehow we all have spaced and even separate living room/ lounges. Christie made us a lovely little pasta dinner that we had in the garden our first night and she walked us all around the area and to the tube the next day for class. Managing the tube hasn't been that hard, its rather like the DART system back home, just bigger and more crowded. Our second day here we went to ostentation and then got a tour, our guide was absolutely wonderful and quite funny. He gave us lots of little tid-bits and pointed out many popular places. Our first major stop was Buckingham palace, man was it bumpin. Really impressive and beautiful, Lucy and I are booked for a tour to see the changing of the guards later to that will be fun. Next we went to the London tower and got to see cites were many of King Henry the 8th wives were executed, torture chambers/prisons were held, where the royal animal gifts stayed, and where they currently house the crown jewels. Back in the day the royals have been given everything from lions to elephants to a polar bear who caught his own fish in the Thames. The jewels were absolutely priceless, Insane how many diamonds and jewels go into making one crown that they wear one time for coronation and the likes. Overall it was a really neat stop, original structures and right on the river as a fortress. We also got to see some of the still intact Roman wall that originally encircled London. Finally, we rounded out the day at a pub with some pizza. It was really fun, I'm so grateful I'm getting on so well with the girls I'm with. They're great and we have a lot of the same values and interests. I think this is the beginning of an unforgettable adventure.