Because.. why not?

Studying Abroad... The time of your life to explore everything, eat new things & go see different places. Well, for me, rugby was never really my thing. I never had the desire to go watch a bunch of grown men tackle each other without pads. 

Yesterday, a few classmates & myself went to the Richmond Athletic Grounds & watched a rugby match. It was a high scoring game, as you can see below, but was well worth it. Ad mission was cheap & we got to watch some good tackles! 

After this, we just went & hung out as friends. I'm thoroughly content with how I spent one of my last Saturdays here!

Cause I wanna be a princess...

I've always wanted to be a princess. In fact, when Kate & William got engaged, I may or may not have googled "bachelor princes." && tried to find myself one. Clearly unsuccessful but one has to dream, right? 

Well, today I visited what felt like a REAL castle. Windsor Castle is about half an hour train ride away from London, perfect distance for a day trip but did not allow me to have my customary train ride nap. Boo!

Windsor itself is an adorable city. Not really much to do or see there besides pubs, the castle, & shopping but well worth the trip! Our goal was to see the Castle & we accomplished that!

Here's the first views of the town we saw:

CASTLES. 

I really wish America had castles. 

I have a thing for taking pictures of ceilings when I'm not supposed to! Here's an AMAZING ceiling in the State Apartments. 

THAT is the section where the Queen stays when she visits. This is considered to be her weekend home. I can only imagine how the inside of her apartment is decorated... probably pristine! 

We happened to walk upon the changing of the guards. I may have not seen it at Buckingham Palace (oops) but I promise I'll head there in the next 2 weeks! 

It's so funny to watch their facial expressions & how seriously they take their jobs. 

The Castle was SO worth seeing. I sadly don't have any pictures from inside, as they were forbidden. But feel free to Google! 

Happy Weekend!

Thursday Adventures

Yesterday, Jake & I headed to the Science Museum. It wasn't as exciting as I expected, considering I'm not 5... it was very interactive & well designed but nothing I hadn't seen before. 

I found it funny that they had a bunch of information regarding Americans in the Space exhibit.

They also had an exhibit asking "who am i?" It's not that exciting of an exhibit... I thought it was gonna be more fun but here's a picture of "who I am." 

So last night, I had the pleasure of attending Wicked! WOW. I've been dying to see this musical forever & it lived up to every single one of my expectations. It was THAT good. The set, costumes, everything was spot on & the story line was much better than I expected. I've seen 2 great plays since being here. 

Since its Thursday, I'm thankful for great musicals & my impending trip to a castle tomorrow. No complaints! 

Happy Almost Weekend! 

Wednesdays & Happy News

It is truly beginning to hit me -how fast life honestly flies by. Sometimes I just sit here & think about how I've dreamed of being in this place for so long. && how short of a time I have left here. How weird is to be in a place you've always dreamed of. These dreams are no longer dreams but instead a reality. 

But here's the problem. After the first few weeks, that magical, mystical feeling starts to slip away. We melt into the routines of life & rarely step out of our comfort zone/ routine. In my last few days here, I am trying to make sure I appreciate the beauty that is around me. Today's post doesn't really feature a verse or theme I've been studying. Instead, it's the realization that God's beauty is all around us... yet we rarely stop to appreciate it. 

So recently, I've been trying to do so. Lots of kids here are sneaking in their last minute clubbing adventures, restaurants, & parks. But instead, I'm attempting to cherish the small things. The budding trees down the street, the "Mind the Gap" every time I get on the train, or the Costa coffees I get. I've also been trying to step out of my routine & cherish our nights watching football, sitting on a park bench or walking down the street. Maybe getting out of your routine is what you need in your life to appreciate the beauty that is all around us... just a thought. 

Enough inspirational musings. 

Today's happy news?

So in December of 1988, 35 students were headed home from the Syracuse University London Abroad program. Suddenly, not too long after take off, their plane exploded over Lockerbie Scotland, killing 270 individuals: 259 on the plane & 11 on the ground. This was considered a terrorist attack & the University strives to remember this students still to this day. 

As a result of this tragedy, scholarships were established in memory of the students whose lives were lost. Every year, 35 seniors are selected as Remembrance Scholars. These students are chosen to Look Back & Act Forward, in memory of the student they represent. Students apply & are interviewed for such a prestigious position. It is one of the highest honors at Syracuse University. I am beyond humbled & honored to announce that I was chosen as one of the 2015-2016 Remembrance Scholars. It is an unbelievable honor. 

Thanks for all of your prayers & see you all on American soil in 16 days!

Too Early Tuesday

Today was one of those days... & sadly, I didn't stay in bed. This was especially sad because my first class got cancelled! After I was already awake & almost ready to leave... So instead, I headed to the gym for a workout & then ran some errands. Oh & finished some Netflix episodes. I guess I really have nothing to complain about. 

After my workout, I walked around the corner to sit in a "square." (a little area of green grass. park. whatever you wish to call it). & I just sat & listened to music. It was peaceful & really beautiful! The leaves & flowers are in blossom here. London is livening up! 

My attempts to grocery shop led me to a taxi strike. I'm not quite sure the purpose but they were certainly accomplishing their goal of disrupting! They parked their taxis all over the busiest shopping street in London. Smart but super annoying for me! It just meant a lot more people were on the Tube compared to normal. 

But on the way to the Tube, I saw this pretty tree. So I guess God throws out little blessings when you need them! 

So now, here I am working on homework. The semester is about to come swiftly to an end & I am thoroughly not prepared! I have 2 papers, 2 presentations, & 4 tests left to go... all in the next 17 days. So there's that. All happy thoughts & prayers would be GREATLY appreciated. 

But in all honesty, & I will post more on this soon, I am conflicted as to whether or not I am ready to go home. For certain reasons, like the people I love ALL being at home, I am ready to go in an instant but then on bright, blue skied days, I realize I am really going to miss this place when I leave. 

So, here I am soaking up the sunshine & last moments in this gorgeous city. All while trying to do schoolwork... boo! I guess that counts for the STUDY part of study abroad. 

Happy Tuesday!

-hannah-

Kempton Races

Happy Monday! Here's to 2 more weeks of class (7 days... but I'm not counting). 

Today, my morning class was spent discussing art. At around noon, I secured tickets to Wicked for Thursday for a great price! I'm always a fan of cheap tickets. Especially when it's a show I've wanted to see forever! I wish you could see the set here - it's incredible! 

But this afternoon, I went to class... at the Kempton Park Course! We went to the horse races! 

This was special for me, as a little girl my dad & I would always watch the Triple Crown together. My bedtime story even consisted of horses. So it was neat to FINALLY see a horse race in person! 

Here are the stands:

The parade area. They walk the horses around this area to warm them up. They then walk in a circle so you can inspect them before betting. 

Here are the horses head to the gates!

Horses & jockeys/saddles get weighed before racing - to make sure the racing is fair!

You can watch on the screen when the horses are far away - on the other side of the track

Here they come!

Gorgeous view over the railroad tracks on the way home

The track was about an hour from our flat but well worth the trip! It was a warm day, with lots of sunlight so no complaints here! I absolutely love my sport class because it allows me to see things & visit places I would never have known about, had it not been for this class! 

So it was a great day overall. && now I'm off to bed! Class in the morning! Happy Monday all! 

Sunday Sunday

As always, my Sunday started off with a trip to Hillsong London. I was so sad, sitting there today & realizing I only get to attend 2 more times. It has truly been such a cool experience to attend church at Hillsong & makes me wish we had one closer to home! In two weeks, my sermon will be taught by either Beth Moore or Joyce Myers, as they have a large women's conference here in 2 weeks. That should prove to be an awesome service. 

So I headed home after my weekly chat with mama bear. Then Arielle & I decided to head off to the Cereal Killer Cafe. The Shoreditch restaurant (if you can even call it that) brags to have basically any form of cereal you can think of. You can add toppings, pick a certain type of milk, or even add candy. It's pretty inexpensive, as I paid just over 3 pounds for my bowl. Not to bad - considering I got to have Cocoa Pebbles with strawberries on top. Yum! 

I was not too thrilled with the Shoreditch area. It felt a little unsafe & I will honestly not be returning there before heading home. This was the only place I wanted to see in that area & I am glad I did, though! 

Here's the place. Check it out:

Look how many varieties of Chex. NUTS!

The menu (Sorry it's a bit blurry)

& more

my delicious bowl, with fresh fruit. Attempting to offset all of the sugar & calories. Worth the effort, right? 

They had tvs playing classic shows & cartoons. With all of the VHS boxes of Friends on top. 

Added in some milk

So sad when it was done!

Eclectic little place

Collection of toys out of cereal boxes

After this delicious trip, I headed to the gym, in an attempt to burn off those Cocoa Pebbles. & now here I am, contemplating heading to bed ASAP. 

Sorry for the infrequent updates, schoolwork has been picking up & I am trying squeeze everything into my last days here. 19 more days!