Update :)

Hello all!

Sorry that I haven't been updating over the past couple days. The internet has been spotty in the flat, so I wouldn't have been able to update from the comfort of my living room, haha, but also we really haven't been doing a whole lot worth writing an essay about. Here is a summary:

Sunday I was told that the Sunday evening services were better for college aged people, so I didn't go to church in the morning. I spent most of the day doing laundry, writing, and relaxing, and then I went to St. George's Holborn just a few streets away. It's affiliated with HTB, it's a whole lot closer (8 minute walk), and I wasn't really in the mood for walking a bunch and taking the tube. :) The sermon was excellent, and so was the worship. I knew most of the songs! It was their monthly communion service as well...but they did it a bit differently (different for the people going there as well). They had everyone come up to the front and worship for a bit, then then we all took communion together up there. It was cool. :) The people there were very friendly. There were 30-40 people at the service, I'd say, and about a third of them were college students. After the service, a couple of them came up and asked me who I was and I sat and chatted with the students for about an hour or so. Whitney, Adam, Robin, Lauren, and Michael got back that night...all of them sick. I started to get a little worried.

Monday Since people were sick, we decided that hanging around the flats would probably be a good idea. I worked on my story some more (nearly done with chapter 6) and in the afternoon we called Caelah and she came to hang out with us, too. :) We sat and talked for a really long time, then went to a Japanese take out place that Caelah had found, and came back to catch up on Grey's Anatomy on my computer. ;) Then we sat and talked some more. Whitney and I were up really late and it was really fun to catch up with her, something we really hadn't done since freshman year. We agreed that we're getting a lot more sentimental since we're getting to be seniors, and this next year is going to be really interesting. Lots of thinking...but I love "life talks." Though I do miss having life talks with Rachel. You haven't been replaced, darling.

Tuesday At this point we discovered that almost everybody on the entire trip was sick. Some kind of flu. Only me and a couple others who hadn't gone away over the weekend were immune. I finished my journals in the morning and then we all trekked over to the Houses of Parliament again for another tour and a meeting with Kevan Jones, a Labour MP. He wasn't too spectacular, just kind of gave the answers we were expecting. No fun stories or anything. After that we waited in line for over an hour to see the House of Commons in session. Again, really interesting and cool, but nothing too spectacular. They were discussing health issues. We stayed for about half an hour and by then it was 3:30 so we were really hungry and went in search of food.

That night Robin and I went to St. George's again for their college group. About seven or so other college kids were there, a couple of whom I had met on Sunday night. We talked and ate for about an hour and a half or so, then we sang a couple songs and prayed for a while. It was really cool being able to talk with kids our age about God, life, school, politics, differences between the UK and US, all kinds of stuff. :) And to get to worship and pray with them was awesome as well. After that, Robin and I watched the finale for Grey's. All I have to say is...wow. I won't torture you, Rachel. That's the last Grey's comment, I promise.

I got my summer working schedule for USA Today also. It changes a couple times during the summer, and I sadly have to work on three Sundays (including Father's Day), but it's not too bad. I know it could be worse. :) And I'm still really excited for it.

Wednesday We met with Lord Alton in the morning and had a chat with him, and we met with Charles Pitt, a guy who works for Conservative MP Crispin Blunt, in the afternoon, so we didn't have a whole lot of time inbetween to do anything interesting. People took naps (many of them still sick) and others read books or wrote them ;) (like me). The W&L alumni reception was in the evening, and I got to see Ali Woodend! She is a lovely girl in my pledge class for Pi Phi who was an exchange student from St. Andrews in Scotland my freshman year (obviously, since she's in my pledge class). She is from High Wycombe, which is near where the Hazeltons live, and she works in London so she decided to stop by the reception, since she is an alumna. :) We had a really great time catching up on our lives and on everything going on back in Lexington.

After that, it got a little confusing. W&L receptions mean lots of wine, and not a lot of food, so some people had had a bit too much to drink, but a lot of them wanted to go to a pub to watch the end of the Liverpool v. Milan football (soccer :-P) game. Some others of us wanted to go back to the flats to change and THEN watch the game. We split up into two groups, and then four, and then we just couldn't find each other anymore, so I went to go get pizza (finally some food!) with Max, Robin, Whitney, and Adam. At 10:00. We met up with the rest of the kids around 11 to hang out for a bit, but then we were really tired so it was bedtime.

My parents were supposed to arrive yesterday, but they were delayed for a bit. Mom is on her way right now, and Dad will get here sometime this weekend, hopefully before tomorrow so that he can see Wicked!

So there's the update. Not too many plans for today. When Mom gets in, she and I are going to grab some lunch and hang out. The class is going to see the newsroom at The Guardian this afternoon which should be really interesting. Some kids are going to see shows tonight, but I'll probably hang out with Mom and Caelah. :) Another four day weekend coming up, so we have a lot to plan.

Happily, the weather has been very nice. We've all been in summer clothes. Sadly, it is going to get cold and rainy again before we leave. Oh well. We're going back to the sunny States!