spain trip: london continued

i paid close to 30 pounds approximately 60 american dollars a night to stay in this teeeeeny tiiiiny little hole. it was clean, yes, but still. the funniest thing of all was that i did not have a towel. i realized shortly after not having janae to care for me that i had not thought through my time alone very thoroughly.

so what i had to do was use the bed sheet for my towel. at least they provided that. it was wonderfully funny to myself, and i wish that anyone would have seen it too.

i bought a towel shortly there after.

the last few days

when i arrived on saturday i went grocery shopping with the father, javier, moved into my room, did a load of laundry, ate lunch, had a nap, and then was on the computer until chantal and javier came back from the airport with chloe and victor.

sunday was another easy day. after the family came back from church we had lunch, then nothing for the next few hours. chloe and victor both had friends over. about 7pm or so, we went to a family friends house to watch the european cup (soccer) spain verses germany. i wish i wish i would have brought my camera. all the food the hostess brought out was spectacular! i could not believe the spread. hams, fish, cheeses, of all sorts piled on top of slices of bread. and spanish omlettes. it was great to say the least.

so this might gross some of you out, but i like to eat raw bacon. Loyd will vouch for that. but its not really raw, it has been highly salted. so what do i see on the table? different types of hams that are salted but not cooked on the table to eat with your bread. i was so happy.

it was a very fun night. everyone was very friendly and eager to talk to me even though i can barely manage a correct sentence.

today, monday has been a little different. ofcourse because it is the first day that we are having english lessons. i tutor around the childrens schedules. they are very busy. july is going to be a busy month for all of us.

fyi: i´m losing weight! i eat less and less often so far. i thought i would gain weight in london with all the eating out i did, but no. i only ate 1 or 2 meals a day and then i walked so much it was incredible!

ps i have a badae in my bathroom....not sure of the spelling. i haven´t used it yet. i think i´ll video it when i do.
pictures to come.
i do put all pictures on picasaweb.com

Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)

the inscription says: THE DAMAGE TO THESE WALLS IS THE RESULT OF ENEMY BOMBING DURING THE BLITZ OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1939-1945 AND IS LEFT AS A MEMORIAL TO THE ENDURING VALUES OF THIS GREAT MUSEUM IN A TIME OF CONFLICT.

so you are walking down the block and you think :oh look at the chip missing. but then you keep looking and there are holes from small chips to massive chunks taken out of every part of the outer wall. it really is an amazing sight. many people never learn why the building is damaged because the memorial is simple and completely understated. i was looking at some of the damage and a pair of boys walked by saying "man look at this building. why don't they fix it"

this museum is great. i only walked the first floor so far but soon i'll see more.

going going GONE!

i was supposed to head out of slc airport at 11:30pm june 18th but the plane was delayed over 3 hours so i was put on a flight with delta at 9:55 am june 19th. arriving in london heathrow airport at 7 am june 20th. it actually worked out very well. i was able to spend more time with loyd, get better rest, and completely de-stress from the packing/cleaning/ last minute details of the entire day of june 18th. man that was a crazy day!

so it is now sunday, june 22nd and i am sitting in a computer lab in london a few blocks from the flat i am sharing with janae. the last two days have been great. if you are bored in this city that means you are boring person. its amazing here! block after block of shops and food and museums and amazing architecture and more that i haven't seen! i river is amazing and the bridges never stop! i've never seen so many bridges span one river. its great.

i do know why most people are skinny here, its not from lack of available food thats for sure, but everyone walks. no reason to drive. driving is insane here. the tube (their subways) are amazing! they run every 3 minutes and they crisscross the entire city. the buses in utah are terrible. i didn't think so, maybe just under par, but no, they are a sad sad excuse for public transport. anyway...its great.

i have much more to write and say, so stay tuned. Pictures coming soon.

-12- -11- -10- -9- -8-

quick countdown to spain! i went to the bank and bought some euros and english pounds. i bought my plane ticket from england to madrid. by the way, do not fly ryanair if you ever need to transport luggage! the ticket was super cheap, but they have fees applied to everything and you can only check 15kilograms in baggage total! that is about 30lbs. ridiculous. Although i am happy that i will have so much room for the trip back for everything i buy in spain. I will not taking ryanair back to england. i want to take the train and chunnel from spain to england.

i can not believe it is getting so close my departure date. i'm freaking out just a bit.

things i need to do: purchase international insurance (requirement of the company)
e-mail ryanair my passport number and personal info (required by spain)
purchase my student travel card
pack up my room (required by sylvia) :)
make copies of all official documents incase of emergency
pack

so it doesn't seem like i have to much to worry about, but i'm still freaked out. i've never traveled to a foreign country before.

- 13 -

-13 - days and counting!
yesterday in preparation for my departure i've started cleaning and sorting my room. i need to pack up my books and other items that i am leaving behind.

today some of the other english tutors for the same company contacted me. it will be nice to have an instant friend group.

- 15 -

15 days
my preparations begin in earnest today...or at least in my mind they have :) my apartment is a disaster. today is organization day so that i will be able to find everything i want to bring with me. today i finally filed my taxes (yeah i know). i'll have a few more dollars in my account to spend on food and travel.

Count Down to Spain - 16 -

not including today i have 16 days before i catch my flight and land in europe! my flight leaves salt lake city, utah at 11:30pm june 18th and lands in london, england at 9:30pm on june 19th. i have a layover in newark then off across the atlantic ocean. i'll be spending a few days in london with my friend and inspiration Janae Haas then off to spain. amazing to know that i'll be getting a flight from london to madrid for about 15 euros or 30 american dollars. i like that.

as the days count down i am getting more and more anxious. i'm so excited!!