Hampton.

Hampton Court.
Location: Surrey, United Kingdom (about an hour train ride from the center of London)
Palace: still today of the Royals in London.
Originally designed by Cardinal Wosley for the Catholic church, he offered it to King Henry VIII when he wanted to divorce Catherine and the church said no.
It was built with the intent to rival Versailles...it didn't quite make it there, but the gardens are amazing.
Because it took so long to build, there are two major architectural design periods in the castle: Tudor and Baroque.
It survived two major periods and kings: The Tudors (Henry VIII) and the Stuarts (William III- Glorious Revolution guy).
So pretty.
Such a blessing to go there.
I loved it.

First train ride of the program.

First gate. There are 4. No worries.

View of the side gardens

Center Court of the Palace

Appropriately imitating good old King Henry and all of his wives. Or just a few.

That palace is huge.

Possibly the best place visited so far.

..chelle..

Tourist.

You gotta get the touristy out of you when you're living here during the first two weeks right?
Thames River:

Princess Diana's engagement ring:

Parliament Square and Big Ben:

Westminster Abbey:

I promise, I'll give you a super informational blog post later on our big trips.
But we haven't one for awhile....
Until then,
PEACE.
..chelle..

Quiet.

London is so quiet sometimes.
Even though there are cars always driving around on the streets,
And the city is busy and full of life,
If you pay close attention, you notice how quiet it truly is.
How the people don't speak,
And if they do, not loud at all.
It's changing me too.
When we go out in public, we sit.
We observe.
We don't talk at all,
But if we do,
It's in hushed tones.
I think it's good for me.
My loud, in your face personality is toning down.
And I notice I'm more observant,
And reserved out there than normally.

The tube has become our best friend.
I can navigate myself pretty well on it.
We spend a lot of time going back and forth and changing over lines to get where we go.
We get so bored.
Obviously.

I still can't get over the fact that going out to McDonald's is fine dining over here.
People get SO dressed up.
And they have attendants(who are in skirts) constantly cleaning and clearing people's spots.
Yes, peeps.
It's a sit-down restaurant down below.
It still cracks me up.

Tower Bridge. These be the girls I spend my life with.

Saint Paul's.

We've been to SO many historical sights,

Like Saint Paul's,

The Tower of London,
The Magna Carta

And of course,

Windsor Castle.

Seriously, the castle has been my favorite part about London so far.
It was so pretty.
And so big and old.

Here's the reason I will come back 20,000 pounds heavier.
Obviously an exaggeration.
But.
The food as meals here isn't so hot.
But.
The eat out and the pastry/bread shops,
AMAZING.
I love them all.
Even if they aren't good for you.
One of my favorite activities here is to go to the markets on Saturdays.
They have all these open air markets with like food and cute jewelry and other trinkets.
And you can just walk around for hours just taking it in.
It's so great- and a good way to spend the morning too.

People are constantly asking me how classes are,
In reality, they suck.
NO ONE wants to be in class while we're here.
The teachers know that.
They try to give us as little homework as possible.
We have class from 9-noon, Monday and Wednesday
And from 9-10:15 and 2-3:30 Tuesday and Thursday.
No class Friday.
And it's all good.
I'm learning more here than I'll ever learn in my life.
Just by interaction.
So I feel like I'm getting the most out of it...and maybe a 4.0?

We are constantly going from about 9 am-10 pm.
And later if we go to a show.
We don't stop.
We do all our homework late in the evenings.
We stay up talking until 3 am or when we all fall asleep.
We're tired.
Our feet hurt all the time.
Half of our tube rides we spend with our eyes closed.
Classes are meaningless since we just sleep through them...
But honestly, things are looking up.
It's been getting better and better every day.
I still am in a HUGE daze.
I can't believe I'm here.
But.
I'm falling in love.
Like I said.
More and more everyday. 

..chelle..

Walks.

Okay.
So London gets better.
The homesickness starts to go away.
And the culture shock starts to fade.
But at night, you still miss your friends and your family.
So it's there.
But it does go away.

We have a class we have to take.
It's called "London Walks."
Basically, for the first month of the program, we have to walk random places throughout the city.
Guided by our teacher  and a lovely book.
Oh boy.
They're great.
Except.
We've been on our feet for 7 HOURS EVERY DAY.
And on top that, we're on our feet for running around doing our activities after.
You walk everywhere.
But we're learning the city.
And we're trying to bond and get rid of our homesickness.
So it's been fun. :]
I love all the wonderful people in my group.

It's weird to finally realize that for the first time in my life, I am completely alone.
My mom isn't just a phone call away.
And I've had to make new friends, who are all on their own too.
Like celebrating birthdays and making them fun.
Speak of fun, meet my bunkmate Jessica.
She just turned 20 on Saturday and she is so great!

I've learned so much about the city,
And all the people in it.
Especially when I found out my calling for the next 4 months in my ward...
I got called to be a Young Womens Leader....
IN A PORTUGUESE WARD!
That's right homies.
This girl is learning Portuguese.
We'll have to keep you posted on how that goes.

The quirks and turns of London still shock me,
Like how they don't have outlets in their bathrooms,
So we have to do our hair in the hall by the one mirror.
Or how if you go out to lunch with more than 3 people, you're considered a group.
They drive on opposite sides of the street.
And the city turns into a crime sex pot area after 4 when the sun sets.
But I'm falling in love with the city more and more every day.
I love it.
The experiences just keep coming and coming.
More to follow.
Peace and blessings, yo.
..chelle..

ARRIVED.

I'm here.
I'm tired (overnight flights are not my thing. I got an hour of sleep total)
I'm a little sick (may just be nerves, but my head feels a little warm to my mother, so who knows.)
I'm nervous.
For the first time in my life, I'm experiencing culture shock. BADLY. I'm wondering how boys go on missions because it is CRAZY scary over here.
I can't seem to wrap my head around the switch of the cars on the roads.
My body can't get on a normal sleep schedule.
The city is ALWAYS busy.
People talk so dirty in the streets. Swear words and sex are hot topics over here. And people have no shame to talk about these things in hushed tones. (thanks for the bubble BYU. NOT.)
I miss my family.
My car.
My wide open spaces.
My Provo and my STG.
My friends who are 7 hours behind me in days (SKYPE ME. PLEASE)

But I'm here.
And I'm SO excited to begin my adventure tomorrow when I meet up with my group at the Centre.
So buckle up.
Here comes the most adventurous 4 months of my life.
Have some pictures for good measure.

Arrival.

Me. My auntie. Trafalgar Square. Christmas Tree.

And so it begins....

..chelle..

New.

Happy 2012 everybody.
Love, the party people that went to Vegas.

LONDON IN ONE DAY.
..chelle..