The End.

March 4, 2011: Received a phone call that (literally) changed my life.  At the time I just didn't know it.
March 6, 2011: Started this blog.
March 7-July 29: Have consistently told tales of struggles getting here, new sights and sounds, random musings, all the way up to...
July 30, 2011: The final day. 

It has arrived.  I'm down to the very last hours in this beautiful place.  My suitcase is packed (now whether or not I have to pay 130 GBP in overweight fees remains to be seen...).  The bus is coming in just over an hour to pick me up and take me to the airport.  In just under five hours I will be on my first plane heading back to the States.  Back to home, Mom and Dad, Allie, Nala, all things familiar, loving.  But my time here has officially ended.

It is really hard for me to put into words just how much of an incredible experience these last four weeks have become.  I have learned things that Berea never would have been able to teach me.  I've met so many people, some as if I've known them my entire life.  I've seen places, monuments, that people only dream of.  Oh, the stories we will exchange over the coming months...I can only imagine!

When I first read about this program back in October of 2010, it seemed like a dream, a distant fantasy.  But I must give credit where credit is due...God turned it into a reality!  A reality that has captured some of the fondest memories of my 21 years of life. 

Along the way I have had total unending support from an array of parties!  I am SO grateful!  You know who you are. 

It's now seven am.  Just an hour to go.

To my readers/followers: I cannot thank you enough for taking part in this journey with me!  I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed reading about my adventures as much as I have enjoyed writing about them.  (shameless plug: sis and I are launching a joint blog sometime in August...stay tuned).

Thank you God! Without You and Your loving goodness, this, all of this, would not have been possible.

To friends: Wow, what can I even say? Some of you I feel like I've known my entire life!  We've had some pretty smashing times together.  The fact that we are all bonded by this time here is pretty awesome.  I hope that you all find joy and beauty in your coming futures and lives back in the States, and that we will all look back on these past four weeks with warm smiles and joy in our hearts.  It is not "goodbye", but rather "see you later."  Keep in touch!   :) <3

Good times:
~"Jose, that is NOT my sticker!"
~Reed and his pj's
~Photobomb!
~Christopher Wren!!
~"Happy birthday, UhMURRCAH!!"
~Pimms-o-clock
~Pigeons in the kitchen
~First day of Brit Culture: Katie explaining PDA to Philip!
~Harry Potter.  Enough said.
~Trying to find the fastest possible train to Waterloo or Surbiton
~"The picture" from Bath!
~The Jose anthem!
~Getting lost that first day in Kingston
~Umbrellas turning inside out (a-hem British Open!!!)
~That initial realization of "Oh my gosh, they have STARBUCKS! And McDonalds!!!  And Pepsi!"
~Thinking that 78-79 is hot when, in reality, we're all probably going to incinerate when we get off our planes back home.
~Speaking in British accents at the randomest of times! (That's a good one!)
~Being so loud on the trains that we didn't even care.

I think Sophia said it best when she posted this on Facebook last night:

I'm not going to try and quote anyone famous or say anything memorable, mostly because I can't think of anything better than what's already been said.  So all I choose to leave you with is this: be thankful for what has been given to us, look toward the future, and try (please do) to never EVER forget the beautiful things that happened here this summer.

Thanks guys!  It's been awesome.  :)

(for the last time) Cheers!

blessings, H

(sorry for the wonkiness of the pictures...i hope you enjoy them anyway!)

The last day

So I'm literally just staring at my screen wondering how in the world this day arrived so quickly.  For the most part, I have finished packing...now whether or not my suitcase will close and/or bust the 50 lb weight limit remains to be seen!  I've already said goodbye (well..."see you later", we are refusing to say goodbye) to several of my friends.  And now I'm here.

Today was pretty uneventful.  I finished my last class here (yippee) with an exam that I think went pretty well.  After that I splurged on a pair of TOMS (I'm in love).  Some friends and I crammed ourselves into the J6 kitchen and made some pretty decent Mexican food.  Hey, I say pretty decent all things considering there was NO Velveeta, salt, pepper, lettuce, or jalapenos.  We made do, and it was a lot of fun.  More than a lot of fun, actually.  Jose, that is NOT my sticker!! lol.

But tomorrow is it.  At 12:05pm my fantastic time in this great place ends; at that time I will be flying back to the states.  Back to home, family, Allie, Nala, no air conditioning, ridiculously hot weather, driving on the right side of the road, accent-free speaking...back to familiarity. 

I should probably try to get some sleep tonight...not sure if that will happen or not, considering I'm feeling about half a million things right now.  I will post a final entry tomorrow morning before I leave.  Cheers! <3

blessings, H

New TOMS make the world go round!

I love these people.  <3

I love these people too.  <3

Grateful

Keeping it short today...I'm pretty tired and I have to study for a test tomorrow.  Lame, I know.

Today was nothing short of fantastic; honestly one of the best days I've had here (And that's saying something, seeing as I've had some pretty smashing days here!).  It was the last day of creative writing; mixed feelings...happy it's over, sad because of the friendships and atmosphere.  We traveled to Highgate, small town outside of London; absolutely beautiful and QUIET!  I think at one point on the tube it was our group of 7 and two other people.  I was thinking, am I in the right city??

Ate at this FABULOUS little restaurant with good food and super-cheap prices!  Spent a great deal of time just talking about anything but class!!!!!! Visited Highgate cemetery...quite lovely and peaceful.  Hopped on the tube to Camden Market.  Total insanity...that's all I have to say about that (if you really want to know more you can ask me).

But tonight also included the farewell dinner.  It was probably the most fun I've had in a long time.  But while looking through my pictures just a little bit ago it made me realize some of the great friends I've made here.  And for that, I'm grateful.  We've had some good times here.  :)

Well...time to be the good student and attempt to study, although I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes open so we'll see how this goes.  Cheers!

blessings, H

My lovely roommates! <3

Katie and I...we could almost be sisters!

Sydney, Reed, and I.  Reed's not wearing pajamas!!

Joseeeee!!! going to miss this crazy guy!

In absentia

Oh. My. Gosh.

I TOTALLY forgot to blog yesterday.  Ok, that's a bit of a lie.  I didn't blog yesterday because I was drowning in and (frantically) scrambling to put together my creative writing portfolio that is due tomorrow.  I was up until 2 in the morning, which is not a norm for me, and I printed off the finished result this afternoon.  Now I am able to maintain my regular blog schedule once more.  :)

For my Brit Culture class I visited a Sikh temple today.  Sikhism is one of the top six religions in the world yet it is only practiced by 0.5% of the population (I did not know this).  Their beliefs are very similar to Christian beliefs: their main ones include honest work, remembering God in all you do, and sharing your assets with the less-fortunate. 

The temple itself is actually very new (finished in 2003) and at first glance it looks very modern.  We had to take our shoes off before we got inside and also cover our heads; luckily I armed my new Primark bag full of scarves, as I have a bit of a scarf fetish.  We were led into the main hall and we got to bow to the Holy scriptures, which was INSANELY cool!  Afterwards, we ate delicious Indian food in the langer hall, basically a version of a soup kitchen: the food is free and all are welcome. 

Class continued back at campus for two hours; in between sessions I frantically hopped on the lift to the fourth floor in a pathetic attempt to try to print off my essays.  The computers at this school are GOD-AWFUL OHMAHGOSH HEINOUSLY slow, so, the task was unsuccessful, to say the least (even after my few choice words to the computers, they still refused to kindly oblige and actually print my papers).  Oh well, life goes on; they are printed now but I am turning them in on Friday.  Bought my last bit of breakfast (pain au chocolat...definitely not the healthiest but so yummy!!!!!!!) and ate a tasty but impossibly American dinner of KFC. 

Oh yeah...Primark. Primark is awesome.  It's like God knew I was coming here and he said, Here, Holly, come to this awesome department store with super-cute cheap clothes and stuff!  I've been at least 5 times, I lost count. 

Tomorrow I will meet for Creative Writing for the last time, pray I did decently on my portfolio, and have some fun with friends at our farewell dinner.  I can't believe it's ending so soon.  :(  Cheers.

blessings, H

P.S. Blogger is making me angry with these pictures: I had to MOVE them myself.  Haven't had any problems until now.  smh.

Inscription on the outside of the temple

Ready to go!

Outside of the temple

To Brian, to life

Six years ago today I lost a dear friend of mine.  He (and one other student at my high school) the unfortunate victims of a car accident.  He was about to start his senior year at Federal Hocking, he always made me laugh, and he had the biggest heart.  I still remember the day I found out; I literally felt frozen, like time was standing still. 

For a while, I was really angry.  Angry at God, mostly.  Why had He allowed for this terrible thing to happen to someone I cared about? But, since then, I've grown older and wiser in my faith, and I've looked back on that day and realized that Brian's life was something to be celebrated.  I remember his funeral:  It's the only one I've been to to date, thank God.  But there had to have been over 500 people there.  To think that someone at the age of 17 touching that many lives is completely astounding!  I don't even think I can amount to that at 21. 

Brian and his legacy have become an example for me; an example that life is so precious and so short.  One minute I was hugging all of my friends outside of the front doors of Federal Hocking High School and wishing them all a great summer, and the next...my friend running up to me at band practice and telling me that it's Brian, there was an accident, and...he was gone.  Just like that.

And the time that I have spent here, in this beautiful country, has been just that: precious.  I've never learned so much about one place than I have here.  I've met so many people whom I feel like I've known my entire life.  I've never taken so many pictures of even the most mundane things, that is, until I came here.  Upon arriving I knew that I had only four weeks, one month, and I decided the second I dropped my luggage in the middle of my tiny room that I was going to make the most of it.  And, darn it, I sure have tried.  Some of my fondest memories, I guarantee it, will be from this trip. 

On another note, as crazy as it sounds, losing Brian was a turning point in my faith for me.  I think that, after that, was the period in my life that I strayed.  It wasn't until the middle of the night that October day my freshman year of college that I realized just how far I had gone.  I resolved from that day on to try to grow closer to God.  Yes, it's still a struggle, that much I will admit, especially with my hectic life.  But when I look back on the "big" things that have happened to me recently, like right now, for example, writing this from a dorm room in a royal London borough, I give credit to God.  It's always been God, and He never left me.  Especially when Brian left me.

I apologize for the bleeding heart testimony.  Actually, no, I don't.  I do realize that this is a dramatic change from my day-to-day goings-on in England, but today...it's not.  Today I'm taking the time to recognize someone special (Brian)...and someTHING special (my faith).

So, Brian...I miss you.  I wish that I could have gotten to know you just a little bit better.  But I know that someday we will see each other again.

Well, as the age-old cartoon ending would say, "That's all, folks."  I suppose that I should continue writing this paper that I devoted an entire entry to (see "ohmygoshijusthavetowriteONEMOREPAPER", which is the entry right before this one), yet it still sits empty in a saved Word document.  I'm down to the final days of this amazing journey, and I appreciate you all riding this out with me.  <3  Cheers!

blessings, H

ohmygoshijusthavetowriteONEMOREPAPER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, I can do this!

My typical collegeisms are coming back to haunt me...I've been awake since 10:30 this morning and have absolutely nothing to show for it except anything I've done in the past two hours.  I guess, back at Berea, that's when I get the most done.  Old habits die hard, I suppose.

This afternoon I spent in utter fits of hilarity as I watched Whose Line and witnessed my favorite foursome of stand-up genius completely make fools of themselves as they suffered through (one of my favorite games, personally) Questionable Impressions! Man, it's a good thing I have the flat to myself this weekend; I'm pretty sure that I would have been disowned by my flatmates because of me laughing so hard! XD

I ook a walk along the River Thames as well.  So peaceful.  The beautiful swans were out in full force and I could not resist my photographic nature.  I just love being anywhere by water; something about it, I don't know.  Like I said earlier...peaceful.  :)

Anyway, skyping with the sis now, then it's off to attempt to put a dent in this independent essay.  Even if I don't get it finished (which I probably won't...I'm pretty tired and I'm about due for some more laughter to course through my bones), I just want to get it started.  But, anywayz, thanks for reading.  <3  Cheers!

blessings, H

Ok...I REALLY have no clue what the flip is up with Blogger.  It's really cheesing me off!  But anyway, there are some pics from today.  Grr...

The last Saturday in England

Sad, but true. 

And I would just like to state, for the record, that when you listen to Harry Potter soundtracks while strolling about Surbiton and Kingston, life just becomes a million times more epic! 

Rounded out my British signature edition Harry Potter covers with the purchase of Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets.  Now I have all 7! Yay!!!! The beautiful thing is that I only paid for half of them...the bookstore had a "3 for the price of 2" sale.  w00t!  Tried Costa coffee today...just had a red berry fruit chiller, but it was yummy.  Bought a couple of things on a whim.  Nothing huge or spectacular.

Gregg's is dangerously close to becoming my new guilty pleasure.

Tonight, for dinner, I made myself tomato and mozzarella tortelloni.  Delish, but I am so full!!!! Drank juice out of a wine glass, because I can. 

And apparently Amy Winehouse is dead.  Never heard her music but she was seriously troubled, that's all I know.  To round it off I know exactly where she died; Camden.  Just off a popular tube station of mine.  It's crazy how certain stuff hits you close to home, no matter where in the world you are.  I don't think I would be blogging about this if I was at home, but I'm here.  Right down the road, quite literally. 

Oh, one more thing, and this goes to any readers/followers of mine: Please think good thoughts/pray for the people of Norway.  It makes me sad to see such peaceful nations victimized by unfortunate acts of violence.  I'm part Scandinavian as well; I probably had family from there.  Definitely saying a prayer for Norway tonight.

But, alas, it is the last Saturday in England.  This time next week I will most likely be on a plane heading back to the fifty-nifty United States.  I am astounded by how fast the time has gone.  Astounded and, perhaps, a little saddened as well.  I've met so many great people here.  Will be hard to say good-bye.  But I'm not going to worry about that right now!  I still have another seven days, after all.  :)

I suppose I should start doing something productive, since I've had two days off and absolutely nothing to show for it.   But Whose Line is winning this battle again.  Cheers!

blessings, H

Shine Your light so I can see You.  Pull me up,  I need to be near You.  Hold me, I need to feel loved.  Can You overcome this heart that's overcome? -David Crowder Band, "SMS (Shine)"

I've got a fever, and the only prescription is...MORE SHOPPING!

But once again, I didn't go nuts!  Yay, I'm getting better.  :]

I started out at Primark (LOVE LOVE LOVE that store!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), and finally got some cardigans...something I've wanted/needed for quite a while now, and for six pounds a pop, I could not resist!  Found these adorable vests (tank tops...sorry!) but I tried them on and they were much too small for me.  And I even got a size bigger than I normally do!  Unfortunately I will have to make another trip back into Kingston before I go home and exchange them.  I swear, the only sizes they have in this country are small and smaller!  Same goes for shoes...I have to get the biggest size they offer!

I went into H&M, which I'm not a fan of in the states, but it's so much better here! After waiting in line for the dressing rooms for over 20 minutes, tried on a dress with butterflies in my normal size, but I was drowning in it (hmm...is that a good thing or a bad thing??).  Quickly exchanged it for a size down, with the pattern I originally wanted, and am now in dress heaven.  :) 

They have Claire's over here!!!!!!!! Which is my source for all things earrings!

Of course, had to continue my British Harry Potter versions quest and walked out of the bookstore with 3, 4, and 5...must. get. 1. and. 2.  before. I. go. home. mwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!

Popped in for a quick sugary pick-me-up at Gregg's, literally the best bakery in the world!! So cheap and so yummy!  Rounded out the day with my tall iced chai tea latte (which I have the hardest time saying! lol! My roommates give me a hard time about it).  Now I'm back in cozy J6B and the entire flat is to myself, since all of my flatmates are probably galavanting about the Louvre by now. 


"Hurricane" by 30 Seconds to Mars is currently playing and I'm contemplating dinner/awaiting news of my sister's arrival in the gorgeous Isle of Skye.  A fun day today!  Cheers!

blessings, H

Second-to-last Thursday musings

While I'm waiting for Whose Line to load...figured I'd kill some time:

First off, a big hello to some of my new followers! Thank you for following!!! However, after July 30th this blog will be discontinued because...my intentions were to run it until my trip ended, which happens to be on...July 30th.  But sis and I will be launching a joint blog sometime in August titled "The H and K Chronicles", so please be sure to stop by that.  Ok, end public service announcement here...

I had class this morning, which consisted of the usual marathon workshop with half-hour lunch break, as well as a noun/adjective exercise that resulted in pairings like "red faith" and (the class favorite) "erotic sidewalk".  Enough of that.

I'm sad to say that I also bought what will probably be my last bit of groceries in England.  But I done stocked up good: tortellini, juice, sushi (!!!), jammie dodgers, British equivalents of ramen noodles, another package of tea biscuits (but they're coming home with me!), and...bread! Yes...47 pence for a freaking loaf of bread! I love it!  Spent the most I ever have on food thus far (just over 21 pounds). 

Oh, and P.S, I hate to sound silly/arbitrary, but having to pay for your laundry SUCKS.  It's expensive here.  

Earlier today I decided to be adventurous and do TWO loads of laundry, holy buckets!  Put in a 20p coin, dryer spit it back out, put it in, spit it back out, put it in, spit it back out...But I have now realized that losing 20p is not the end of the world (this was very gently reminded to me by one of my roommates who, at the time of my laundry doings, was having an existential crisis.  Thanks, neighbor.  Sometimes my big mouth doesn't listen to my big brain.) 

Anywho, all is well, I have a pile of folded clean clothes on my bed, and my second long weekend is officially under way.  And this part is to Sydney, Kathryn, Jessaca, Kelly, Katie, Sophia, Sara, Sara, Michelle, Jose, and anyone else I might have missed: HAVE FUN IN PARIS THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!! <3

My episode of Whose Line has barely loaded, so now I shall partake in some face time with dear sis in Scotland.  Have a wonderful night/afternoon, wherever in the world you may be! :)  Cheers!

blessings, H

As promised...

This one turned out the best.

Katie looks quite silly in this.  But we all love it!

Will post an actual blog later today.  Cheers!

blessings, H

Much Ado about Greenwich with a side of rain

Yes, it is going on Day 4 of rain here in the lovely United Kingdom.  I am beginning to wonder if it will ever stop.

First off, I got to sleep in today!!! Yay! So exciting after traveling for three consecutive days, even though we still traveled today.  A friend and I ventured into Kingston for a tiny bit of shopping, where I finally invested in a watch necklace.  They're VERY popular over here, and I've seen them from Chinatown to Camden, ranging in prices from 7 pounds to 24 pounds!!! But I got mine at Primark (which has literally become my new haven for all things cheap and cute) for the low price of 4 pounds! And I love it! :)

After shopping, and yummy iced chai tea lattes from Starbucks with a very friendly barista, we made our way to Greenwich, which is not as easy as it sounds!  We first had to take a train from Surbiton to Waterloo, but our train was delayed a few minutes right before Waterloo...VERY frustrating!! Nevertheless, we booked it to the Jubilee tube line and got off at Canary Wharf.  We then boarded a DLR train, which at times felt like we were in one of those simulator rides, to Cutty Sark station, which dumped us into the heart of Greenwich. 

Greenwich is a really nice place, although I would have loved to see more of it, but, alas, a graduation ceremony was going on and the sites were closed off.  We went to the Royal Observatory (yes, I stood on the Prime Meridian line...literally in two places at once) and the National Maritime Museum...very, very cool if you are a big Navy buff! 

We made our way back into London after galavanting around Greenwich, which proved to be much easier than actually getting to Greenwich.  Ate at a Greek place for dinner, which was deceptively cheap.  I say "deceptively" because the prices ranged from 4-6 pounds for an entree, but the portions were small and the menu suggested three or four per person to get a full meal! Crazy!  I ordered a lamb souvlaki, which proved to be yummy (and filling), along with a ginger beer!

At the Prime Meridian line

Far-away view of the Observatory

In Greenwich

Thanks to the girl who spoke French for taking this!

Globe Theatre...with the rain!

Globe Theatre, Globe Theatre, Globe Theatre!!!! Oh, did I mention I went to the Globe Theatre?? Well, I did.  And it was fantastic!!!!! So surreal.  I held a groundling ticket (meaning I was standing on the grounds) for Much Ado About Nothing! Unfortunately, it was raining.  And although it was the funniest play I've seen in a long time and the show was very enjoyable, my poor feet just could not handle another hour and a half of standing, so I left at intermission.  I've got the soaked-all-the-way-through Toms sitting by my heater to prove it.  Yeah...don't wear Toms at the Globe on a rainy day...they'll be soaked in no time!  Definitely a memorable experience, though!

Bottom line: I. Am. Pooped.  Tomorrow it's just lecture, and then this girl is grocery shopping (for, quite possibly, the last time I am in this wonderful country :[ ), and then doing nothing!!! I need a break!!!!!!!  I can't believe that pretty soon this will all be over.  But I try not to think about that too much.

Anyway, thanks for following/reading.  Off to count some sheep.  Cheers!

blessings, H

(Ok, I have NO IDEA why Blogger is deciding to put my pictures in the middle of the freaking blog.  I tried to fix it three times, but I'm too tired to fuss with stupid technology right now.  >__< )