A final thought from this Little London Lady...

Last Christmas, my family and I went to go see the movie National Treasure 2. This movie has tons of scenes set in London because a secret compartment is found in a desk in Buckingham Palace, which holds a Native American map to the city of gold. While watching I thought to myself, ‘Wow! One year from today I will have been to London for three months and back, and seen Buckingham Palace myself. That is crazy!’ As I sit on my flight for the 8 ½ hour journey back to America, it is very appropriate this film would be shown on board to pass the time for the antsy travelers. As I flew over the Atlantic Ocean, I watched the movie intently recognizing all the landmarks, quietly realizing just how full circle my journey has been.

 

The past 12 hours have been nothing short of eventful. The girls went to Nandos for dinner, which was a great last supper in London. We then went to McDonalds and got a specialty McFlurry because this special mint one is only offered in the UK – and mint is my favorite! While there are probably 100 McDonalds in the city of London we picked the slowest one… on the planet. And then, the guy had the nerve to hand me my McFlurry without whipping it in the machine – so basically it was not a McFlurry at all. I simply would not have this. I said very politely, “Excuse me sir, are you going to whip this up for me?” And he looked disgusted, walked away and after putzing around, finally Mcflurryized my Mcflurry. When he handed it back I said, “Thank you,” and he gave me another disgusted look and I said, “I am sorry, but after waiting, you were you trying to rip us off, and this is our last night in London and you were about to take away from us the essence of a McFlurry…!” Clearly, I was a woman scorned, and he looked guilty, apologized and we giggled on our way back to the tube eating our ice cream. If you take one thing from this entry, it should be that I fight for my McFlurry, and you should too. When dessert is involved, never give up J.

 

When we got back to the flat we finished cleaning and packing up. The anxious feelings began to set in our full tummies, and by the time our suitcases were zipped and we had nothing left to do, we were ready to just get on with it. But, of course, we couldn’t sleep, so we stayed up until 2 am watching ‘She’s The Man,’ and then Laura and I headed into our room for our final night as roomies. We live together at Elon, but not in the same room. So it is sad for us because we have both loved being able to talk out our final thoughts just before we fall asleep. It’s quality La (what I call Laura) Ja (what I call myself because Je does not rhyme with La… go with it…) Pillow Talk. We talked for about 20 minutes and then just like two ten-year-olds at a sleepover, fell quiet as we succumbed to the exhaustion of the day.

 

This morning we woke up at about 6:30 am, got everything together and began to load our suitcases onto the coach bus heaving for Heathrow at 8 am. As we all circulated in and out of our basement flat carrying our massive bags up the winding stairs, somehow the door to our flat got closed behind us. This would not have been an issue if we had a key. We did not. This would not have been an issue if someone was still inside to open the door for us. No one was.

 

We all flew into a panic with five minutes before the loaded coach bus of anxious students was about to leave for Heathrow Airport, and some of our bags were still inside our flat. We immediately called maintenance to come open to door, but they would have taken 20 minutes to arrive at the least, which was too long to wait. When our faculty advisor Brooke arrived, we had a sigh of relief when she said she had a key to all the flats. The problem was – the keys were left in her flat and the bus was going to leave in 5 – 10 minutes. Brooke’s flat is about ¼ mile away and one of us had to run and get the key. Kristy took off, being the avid runner of the group, but she recently sprained her ankle and since I knew where the flat was because of my frequent walks with Brooke, and she did not, I took off after her, stopped her and finished the run in the 5 degree Celsius air, without a coat, tears starting to sprawl out of my sleepy and emotional eyes. I do not think I have ever run so fast. After all of the goodbyes, I was ready to go home today. No if’s ands or buts, so I just ran like the wind. It was like the scene at the end of ‘The Holiday’ where Cameron Diaz is sprinting in the cold back to tell Jude Law she loves him. Only, my finish line was a stupid key and not the beautiful Jude Law… definitely not as gratifying. I did get the key and made it back in time for us to get out bags and make it on the bus before it pulled away.

 

Still breathing heavily and adrenaline running high, I watched out the coach bus window as it drove further and further away from my little London life. We arrived at the airport, had a very easy check in (none of my bags were overweight, thank goodness… actually, thank Ike and Brezny!), went through security and sat with the girls reading Cosmo Magazine at the gate for an 1 ½ hours before it was time to board (why the bus HAD to leave at 8 am, seeing as we had so much time before our flight is beyond me…, but it all worked out, in fact, I worked out, so I guess the morning sprint will keep that McFlurry from appearing on my thighs…yay)

 

And that brings me here, to seat 32 J on American Airlines flight 173 from London Heathrow to RDU, watching National Treasure as the plane soars mile by mile closer to home. Now that I am only three hours away from seeing my family, I am filled with excitement and anticipation. This has been such an incredible three months, but it ended at the perfect time – before anything went sour. There is a reason ‘Friends’ ended the series while it was still very funny and popular – because in doing so the creators were able to bottle the magic of that show forever and look back on it with no regrets. In leaving now, yes I am leaving behind two best friends in Robert and Gordon. I am leaving the incredible sights of London and abandoning the ability to jump on the tube and be at a historic landmark or a fancy nightclub whenever I want. I am leaving behind the special bond of Flat B, and the freedom and friendship we shared abroad. But in leaving those moments I am taking with me the memory of this experience – a memory that will never fade or slip away with time thanks to this blog… and of course the millions of videos and photographs currently consuming my hard drive.

 

For all of you who have read and followed my London adventure, I cannot express to you how much it means that you not only read the extremely long entries that at times probably seemed boring and redundant, but that you always commented and cared. From family, to neighbors to sorority sisters, to friends, I have had an amazing support system that helped to remind me of how fortunate I was to be having this experience. While you were not physically here with me every day, I still feel as though I was able to share this semester with you to make up for those moments I wished you were beside me, and that is very special to me.

 

So, in a much-anticipated conclusion and as the credits roll on my in-flight movie, the page turns in this chapter of my life. Soon, my flight will touch down and this little London lady will be an American girl again. Until my next adventure, which I am confident there will be plenty more, do yourself a favor and go to Borders and buy a book. I am pretty certain without my lengthy blog to read you will have some time on your hands. And get excited, because coming home means seeing you, which is the best part of all.

 

A final love and hugs,

 

Your Little London Lady

 

Say girlicious, not goodbye :)

I have never been a fan of goodbyes, but I am a firm believer in closure, so I always make a big deal of them. My last weekend here in London is upon us, and while it is still hard for me to believe it, I am almost home. As I have been walking around the city these past couple of days, I think to myself how crazy it is that even though I will no longer be here, the city will go on without me just the same. The tubes will run (and of course break down…), the lights will blink on Regent Street, people will circulate in and out of the shops, and someone new will see this city for the first time and come to realize, as I have, how special it really is. My presence here has been but a blip in time, and next semester 40 new Elon students will begin their incredible journey – a journey that has changed me in ways I am still yet to discover. I just know, it has changed me for the better.

 

Saturday morning I woke up… well let’s be honest… feeling like I had been hit by a truck! I never understood why anyone would drink a lot of alcohol on their birthday – it is kind of silly because on the day of your birth you probably end up taking a day off your life…. but I had to embrace the tradition of cocktails and celebrate being young and LEGAL. You see, at least I did not break any drinking laws this year since I am legal in London! Plus the recovery was quick after getting some food in my empty stomach. 

 

As I was eating my cheerios (I will miss my Londonized cheerios – they are a bit more crunchy) my phone rang and it was my childhood friend Melanie Beck on the line. She and I were best friend in CT before I moved to NC when I was 15. She happens to be studying here in London for the semester through Ithaca University. While we have kept in pretty good touch, it had been two years since I had seen her. Who would have thought our next get together would be in London?! So crazy! So after making our plans to meet at Embankment, I showered and got ready for the day, and then headed off toward the Thames River – my favorite place in all of London.

 

As I was exiting the tube I saw her standing looking great with a big smile on her face, holding her arms wide open. It was so wonderful to see her. She looked beautiful and was just the same bubbly and warm girl I grew up with. We walked across the footbridge, overwhelmingly asking each other a million questions. We caught up on each other’s lives over some delicious club sandwiches and fell into our usual giggly and gossipy pattern. It was so incredible seeing how much she has grown and in turn, realizing how much I too have grown. There we were – two 20 year olds sitting in a restaurant over looking the Thames River in London, England. If you had told me that would happen years when I left CT 4 ½ years ago, I would have never believed you. Our lunch came at a perfect time in this trip as well, because it reminded me that even after you leave a person you love behind, with effort and a little good luck they will find a way back into your life. It certainly gives me hope for the relationships I am leaving behind.

 

The rest of the day was spent mostly laying around and packing up all of the crap we have accumulated over the past three months. Thank goodness for Ike and Brezny’s visit because they were able to take back so much of my stuff, so packing was actually not very difficult. As I zipped up my suitcases and laid out my outfits, it hit me – this is it. I am on the last paragraph of this chapter in my life, and turning the page is slightly heart breaking.

 

The girls collectively decided we had enough of London night life… our poor dancing feet were tired and sore, our hot going out clothes and stiletto heels were all packed away, and are morale was low after a long Friday night celebrating my birthday. So instead, we stayed in and watched Love Actually – not only a Christmas themed movie, but also very British, which was just perfect. We recognized so many of the landmarks featured in the scene transitions, including the Somerset House, which we had just been ice-skating on the day before. It was really cool! And I love that movie… especially Hugh Grant. I could use a Hugh Grant in my life… and then we could have a house in London and NC…. That would be perfect J. After, we said good night and went to bed.

 

This morning marked our last day in London. I have to pause as I type that out, because it is extremely surreal that this day is finally here. I slept in pretty late, not even so much because I was tired, but I told Laura upon getting my butt out of bed, that I slept because I probably thought that maybe if I didn’t wake up, this day just wouldn’t come, and I wouldn’t have to say goodbye. But there is no stopping time… it just keeps moving whether you sleep through it or not.

 

I got changed and watched the time tick with a bit of a sick stomach, waiting to leave for my goodbye lunch with Robert and Gordon. I headed to Bond Street tube station at about 1 pm to get some last minute things for the gift I put together for them and met them (on time J ) outside the stop at 2 pm. I felt anxious because I hate goodbyes and I wanted to just enjoy lunch without thinking too much about the inevitable. We walked to this really cute pub just a couple of blocks away and had a great Sunday Roast. Rob and I had roast beef with delicious potatoes and gravy, and Gordon had the lamb. The portion could have been larger for our bottomless tummies, but it is surly for the best seeing as we all haven’t been to the gym in months – although Gordie does cycle and Rob talks a lot about wanting to go to the gym, so that must count for something J.

 

We exchanged goodbye presents and I gave them the 11 X 14 collage I made them on photo shop, Christmas cards for them to open on Christmas day, a Kit Kat bar each, and a bag of stolen sugar from McDonalds. The story behind this is that one day toward the beginning of the trip they said they needed some sugar, so I ran out on an errand and very sneakily grabbed (not really stole…) a huge handful of individual sugars from the Pret-A-Manger down the street. So I included tons of sugar in the gift bag as a gag. I also wrote them each a very lengthy letter (as you must all know by now, I am very wordy…) and we were all crying by the end of it. Then they gave me the best present – it was a High School Musical photo album with tons of pictures for our experience together. It is hilarious how we were on the complete same wave-length with the presents. The best part (besides for the fact that we are all so ridiculously good looking) was that inside they had Leanne, Catherine and Ben (Tracy, Luanne and Link from the West end production of Hairspray) sign me personal notes with well wishes! I met Catherine and the gorgeous Ben at the cast party, and as you know Leanne and I are basically BFF J. It was the most wonderful present.

 

After lunch we walked back to the tube station and I hugged them both very tight and said goodbye. As I walked on the tube, I didn’t look back because I knew it would just make me break down. While I know I will see them again when they come visit NC next year (yay!), not being able to see and talk to them every day will be a difficult adjustment. There are simply so many ways they have made this experience what it was – the most amazing three months of my life. But like I said in their letter - just like you never forget your first love, you never forget your first intern. And trust me – this is not the end. Girlicious forever.

 

I talked to my mama on the phone on my way back to the flat and of course cried like a little baby about leaving. There is something about verbalizing things to my mom that just opens a whole new ocean of tears. But hearing her voice reminded me of how excited I am to come home and see my friends and family – and of course celebrate my birthday and Christmas! Do not be fooled, I may be very sad to leave this city behind, but for every tear there is a jolt of excitement for finally being back home. After all, there is no place like it, right?

 

Tonight the girls are going to dinner at Nandos and then spending the evening together in Flat B – our London home! We are going to dance around the common room, record video messages, and write out all of our inside jokes and memories from our time here. It should be a wonderful way to say goodbye to our home away from home, Little Venice.

 

My flight is American Airlines 173 leaving from Heathrow at 11:25 am and gets in at 3:10pm. I love how I gain time in the time difference because that means I get to spend a lot of time with my family in the afternoon to decorate the Christmas tree and eat cake! YAY! I am so pumped for that! I am looking forward to seeing the new addition on my house, hugging my dog (yes.. I have a dog, and YES, I do love him even though no one thinks I do…yes this may be the first time he has appeared in my blog, but all the same…), sprawl out in my queen sized bed, drive Audrey around town filled with cheap gas, see the Christmas lights around town, run across the street and see the Harrison family and simply be back in Cary, NC – and of course, be back on the US dollar!

 

I will write a blog on the plane ride home, which will be my final entry. So until then, cheerio loves J

 

Love and hugs,

Jenny

The beauty of age

I have always wondered why beyond a certain point it is socially unacceptable to ask a person’s age. Honestly, either you look old or you don’t – telling people your actual age is not going to change your outer appearance, so why not own it? And let’s face it, sometimes you just want to be able to ask “how old are you,” without feeling the awkward aftermath of having just asked an “extremely personal question”.  Since when did age become so personal? Up until you are about 26, you shout your age freely, countdown to the day until you are legal, and revel in the excitement of cake and presents. So why does this excitement transform to dread past a certain year? Since when did age go from being a number to a being some kind of death sentence?

 

On my 20^th birthday, I could not have been more excited to celebrate it here in London, my favorite city on earth, with some of my favorite people. I woke up – no, not feeling very different – but certainly feeling special. Upon coming back into the room after brushing my teeth I noticed on the door two printed picture collages and signs wishing me a happy birthday, signed by all of my flat mates. It was a very thoughtful effort headed up by Laura, and it was a perfect way to start the morning.

 

Andrea, Laura and I went to Raoul’s for a lovely birthday breakfast of French toast and eggs and it was delicious. We then came back to the flat, got ready for the day and went about our next birthday activity. Katie, Kristy, Laura and I headed to Covent Garden to go ice-skating at the beautiful Somerset House – a gorgeous mansion turned museum in the heart of the city. In the outdoor quad there is a picture-perfect ice skating rink, with a huge Christmas tree decorated with Tiffany and Co. decorations, which meant tons of teal – my favorites color. The tree was not as big as Rockefeller Center’s, but it was just as classy). Kristy hurt her ankle last week so after looking around, she headed back to the flat leaving Laura, Katie and I behind to skate on the rink for an hour. It was so magical, and a perfect afternoon activity. I proudly did not fall once, and while I would not classify myself as a pro, I certainly got the hang of it. They had classical music playing and it was so romantic and right out of movie.

 

After taking off our ice skates, we headed back into Covent Garden. This marketplace is one of my favorite areas in London. It is full of outdoor shops and booming with people weaving in and out of the stands, watching all the live performers – and of course, enjoying the very festive decorations dressing the storefronts for the holidays. Katie, Laura and I got some delicious jacket potatoes (this is the British term for a baked potatoes with tons of toppings to choose from – I got baked beans and cheese on mine and it was so delicious) and listened to some enthusiastic string instrument musicians play Christmas music in the square below.

 

We then headed back to the flat, showered, baked the funfetti cake that my mom sent me and got all dolled up for my birthday dinner at this posh Mexican restaurant called Las Iguanas located in Soho.

 

After taking our usual photo shoot of pictures, Katie, Kristy, Kelsey, Laura, Andrea and I got on the tube, and finally arrived at the restaurant where we met up with Robert and Gordon. I am not usually a big fan of Mexican but since I had not had it in forever, I was very much in the mood for a good enchilada and some margaritas of course! It was such a great meal with all my favorite people in London. We talked, laughed, drank and ate for about two hours. It was so great for the girls to meet the infamous Rob and Gordon and just as I knew they would be, they were so great to my friends. The boys also gave me these very bling-bling earrings for my birthday and I put them on immediately because they matched my dress so well. It was a perfect evening. The very nice and attentive waitress even brought out some cheesecake for me with a candle on it and they all sang to me. I can’t even write about it without having a big smile on my face. I just feel so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life to celebrate with.

 

After dinner, we parted with the boys and headed back to the flat to have more cake! It was soo hilarious because as I was blowing out the candles of my cake my hair almost caught on fire!!! AND, we got it on video! It is probably the most hysterical thing I have ever seen. I completely freaked out and my screams reached a pitch I did not know I was capable of – it has been classified as bird-like. I think I am going to send it to America’s Funniest Home Videos, and I think I will win J. The cake itself was seriously the most delicious cake I HAVE EVER HAD. Trust me, I have had my fair share of funfetti but something about this particular cake – maybe it was the fact my mama sent it over, or that Laura and I made it together with love, or the couple of margaritas I had before hand, but it was just to die for!

 

We hung around the flat for a little while just dancing around. The boys form upstairs joined the little gathering and we caught up with them for a while. At about 11:15pm we got our lazy butts out of the apartment and headed into the cold to Piccadilly Circus. After getting off the tube, we were wandering toward the nightclub Ruby Blue, when a club scout stopped us and lured us into Café de Paris – a very elite and upscale club that apparently Paris Hilton loves… I wonder why?! My cover charge was free because it was my birthday, which was AMAZING… but the poor girls had to pay 15 pounds each, plus 3 pounds for the coat check, which goes to show how elite the club is.

 

Once we got in, the music was amazing and eclectic from Britney to Michael Jackson throwbacks, to techno versions of radio favorites. We danced the whole night away with the exception of a little trauma incident – Katie got a little carried away and flipped her head into my face. My nose and lip began to drip blood in the middle of the dance floor, so laughing (because it really didn’t hurt that bad – again, maybe this was due to the margaritas J ) we ran to the bathroom where the attendant was a complete bitch to us despite the blood, but finally let me shove a tampon up my nose to stop the bleeding. It was pretty hilarious – first I almost light my hair on fire, and now I have a tampon shoved up my nose in front of the whole line of girls waiting to use the bathroom! Oh, good times, good times J. The bleeding stopped, and it was back to the dance floor. It was such a true nightclub – they had burlesque dancers up on the stage (and their true gender was anyone’s guess…) and confetti shot from the ceiling every hour. It was surreal and was the perfect way to end to an incredible day. Laura and I – the troopers – stayed until close, finally got our coats from the idiots behind the coat check who were delusional and lost the ticket we had handed them…. (that was frustrating), got on the 6 bus and made it home….slightly fat lip and all (luckily the swelling has gone down…it’s all good… I have done my fair share of head flips in my time, so I can understand the accident).

 

There was a moment in the club I will never forget. It was the four of us, Katie, Kristy, Laura and I, dancing together hugging and jumping up and down, in a fancy nightclub, in the best city in my world. I will never forget how special and honored I felt to be with those women in this city on my birthday.

 

I know I am only 20, and so my birthday is something I still look forward to (even though I am certain I will look forward to it even when I am 80 because it is a day all about me J ) but I find the negative light we cast on the reality of getting older a real shame. Even at the “ripe age” of 20, I am not immune to the worry that comes with age. No matter how young or old you are, every age comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. Sure, no one wants to give up his or her youth because that means more responsibility. No one wants to be “over the hill,” because that somehow means you are at the halfway point to death. But I am pretty certain that the 16 year old who died in a tragic car crash never considered his 8^th birthday as any “over the hill” milestone. In fact, I bet that birthday was an exciting and great day.

 

That is the beauty of this life. We seem to forget not only do we become wiser with age, but that age is absolutely no determinant of how long we are going to live. Every day could be your last, which is exactly why you have to take in every moment and cherish it. This is also why on every birthday, instead of dreading becoming one year older, we should simply feel blessed and grateful that we have made it another year on this earth. And if you have the chance to celebrate that day in London, I highly recommend it.

 

Love and hugs,

Jenny

A lazy day in London town…

This morning, I slept in until 11am, which was beautiful, seeing as today I had no where I had to be. After waking up and getting ready, I headed to the Kelly Management office to spend the afternoon with the boys. We caught up on events of the past couple of days and went out to lunch at Slug and Lettuce – our favorite restaurant – we are seriously regulars there and have the same waitress every time, but she doesn’t seem to notice, which I think is funny. We had a very nice lunch and discussed when and what we would do when they come to visit me in NC next summer.

 

It was sad to say my final goodbye to the office, but after all, it is just a building – the two people that work there will be much harder to say goodbye to. But luckily I get to see them tomorrow night for my birthday dinner and again for a final Sunday roast before I leave Monday morning. I still cannot believe it is so close… tomorrow will mark not only my birthday (whoop whoop!) but also my last weekend in London, and that makes me feel so sad.

 

After seeing the boys, I came back to the flat, and then went on a long walk with Brooke. It was a bit cold, but it was great to get out and catch up on each other’s lives. I met Laura back at the flat and we had eggs and toast for dinner, which was actually delicious. After dinner, I literally sat in my bed the entire night organizing my iPhoto because my over 7,000 pictures (literally) were not organized in chronological order – and you know me… that was simply unacceptable. I feel so relieved everything is in order, and hopefully if I get the new iPhoto for Christmas from Santa, the pictures will be ready to go directly into that new format.

 

So it is officially my birthday seeing as it is 1:36 am London time! Wow, according to this time zone, I am now 20 years old! I am a bit bummed because when people used to ask me my age and I would say 19, the shock value was enjoyable. Not to mention, this marks the end of my teenage years – and while full of change and growth, they were pretty exceptional. Even just looking back on my pictures of the last five years, I cannot get over what an amazing life I have. The fact that I can accumulate over 7,000 pictures of friends, family, and memories says a lot. I have grown up so much and I am so proud of where I am in my life and even more proud of the people I get to share my life with. And I just know there is so much more in store.

 

The plan for my birthday tomorrow is:

            9:30am: Wake up and go to Rauols with Laura for a birthday breakfast!

            12pm: Go ice-skating at Somerset House and have a late lunch after.

Late afternoon: Come back to the flat, watch a Christmas movie and bake the lovely funfetti cake my mama sent me! Then get ready for the evening.

6:00pm: Head to the posh Mexican and Brazilian restaurant Las Iguanas for happy hour and dinner with Katie, Kristy, Andrea, Kelsey, Laura and of course, Robert and Gordon.

Afterward, dance the night away at a currently undecided club, but we will figure that out!

 

I am very excited and cannot wait to fill you in on the details of the festivities come Saturday!

 

Love and hugs,

The Birthday Girl!

Love is....

In tennis, love means zero – nada…nothing…basically, you suck. I always found this very interesting and while I could take the time to research the origin of this scoring system, instead I am going to think about it with you. How could love – having it, losing it, growing in it, living for it – represent the losing end of a match? How could an emotion so strong that it connects us all and has the ability to drive human beings together, and sadly at times even drag us apart, amount to nothing?

 

Another interesting question came to mind when I thought about the fact that love is being used in a game. I wish it weren’t true, but finding love is often a game – how should I act to make this person like me? Who should call who first? There are so many rules to dating, you would think we were playing an intense game of chess. As women, we constantly debate how to make the guy feel like we are hard to achieve the “thrill of the chase,” when really we just want to throw in the towel, be up front and simply say, “listen, I think you’re great.” And I am sure that men, trying to unveil the complicated and intricate workings of the female mind have issues of their own trying to translate women’s actions. There is all of this confusion, self-contemplation and effort simply because we are trying to win in the game of love. But in life, if love is the prize we are all seeking, how come in the game of tennis, love is a loser’s score?

 

Why all this tennis talk? Well this morning, Andrea, Laura and I went to Wimbledon to see the famous racquet club that holds the annual Wimbledon tennis tournament. I woke up this morning, had some oatmeal and got ready for the day. Then we headed on the tube for about an hour getting on and off, switching lines and finally arriving at the Wimbledon Park tube stop. It was a very cold day (like FREEZING…) but again the sun was out and shining, which makes the cold manageable. We stopped first into a cute tennis shop right outside the stop, and then walked up hill for about 15 minutes searching for the actual tennis club. We passed the Wimbledon Golf Course, which was beautiful, and made our way to Gate 15 of the Wimbledon Club.

 

An escort arrived and took us through the outdoor walkway surrounding the many courts on our way toward the Wimbledon Museum and gift shop. He gave us some fun facts, but we really weren’t able to see that much because the centre court (where all the big televised matches happen) is under construction and is closed off to the public. Instead of paying the 15 pounds for the tour and museum entrance fee, we did a bit more looking around the ground and of course, went shopping in the gift shop. After, we walked another ten minutes up to Wimbledon Village.

 

This small shopping area was very quaint, and had tons of restaurants, home stores, and dress shops. It was a very proper English town, and we had a delicious lunch at Giraffe to get out of the cold. Afterward, we walked around a bit in and out of some of the shops and then headed back to the tube.

 

It was a bit of a sleepy ride due to a food coma. Halfway through the journey, Laura and I split from Andrea who wanted to head home, to meet up with Katie and Kristy at the amazing Westfield Mall. This mall is London’s finest and just opened about two months ago. It is stunning and has every upscale designer store you could imagine. Plus it is so high tech – the maps are interactive and you can search specific entities, such as restaurants or shops, or certain floors. It was very cool. Plus the inside was beautifully decorated for Christmas! IT WAS GORGEOUS, like a complete winter wonderland at every turn. And it was a REAL mall, and I haven’t been in one of those in forever. The trip reminded me how much I love a good mall. The mall is my second home – well that and a movie theatre where I can live vicariously through the fashion and romance of the characters on screen… I am a loser, I know.

 

We did a bunch of browsing and I walked away with one really cute top (which took a lot of self control to only purchase one thing J But I considered this one item a birthday present to myself (2 MORE DAYS!), and it was pretty reasonable. Then the girls and I had dinner at Nando’s and sat talking for an hour or so. I love Katie, Kristy and Laura  – the four of us are so much like the Sex and the City girls: I am Carrie of course simply because I spend most of my time behind my lap top writing to all of you. Kristy is Miranda because she wants to be a lawyer and has that wonderful cut the bull-shit attitude, which I love. Laura is Charlotte - the very demure and sweet girl next door, and Katie is Samantha – no she is not a whore like Samantha, but she is fun, dependable and always speaks her mind in the most hilarious way. I think in the end, we are each a combination of all of these women, but to have three best friends like them is such a blessing. I just hope when we go back to Elon the bond of our sweet foursome does not fade.

 

After dealing with a little oyster card situation at the tube stop (long story J) we got back on the tube and headed home. Tonight we are staying in and I think I am going to watch the movie Wimbledon to see if I recognize anything… I am not sure that they even filmed it in the actual stadium, but we’ll see.

 

Which brings me back to my original thought. In an attempt to understand the scoring system of tennis, I am going to make a leap. Maybe the reason that love comes up first in the scoring of tennis is because love is the baseline of everything we do. Love is at the core, and without love there is nothing to build from. If you start with love, then good things should follow – be it points in a match, or experiences in your life. Because for me to believe that love could ever mean zero is not something this hopeless romantic is willing to do.

 

Love and hugs,

Jenny

Making it count

I realize that the past couple of days I have been getting behind with my blog, so in the interest of keeping myself up to date, I am going to now reflect on the happenings of the past three days, which have been full of anticipation and saying goodbye to London one tube stop at a time.

 

The final week of London is officially upon us, and with each day that passes, the reality that I will be home in just a few days is beginning to sink in. There are so many exciting things to look forward to, and yet there is so much I am leaving behind.

 

On Sunday, I literally stayed in my pajamas all day, blogged and posted facebook pictures and left the flat once to run up to Tesco to grab a microwave dinner. Other than that I took the day to rest and catch up with my flat mates. Brezny and Ike left early that morning and I could not fall back to sleep. Maybe it is because seeing them leave reminded me that I would be doing the exact same thing in just seven days, and all the emotional baggage that comes along with that was weighing on my mind. So instead, I simply got an early start to my day of rest, blogged for literally five hours and reflected on what a fun time I had with Brezny and Ike. Having them here reminded me of the incredible people I have waiting for me at home.

 

On Monday, I slept in and met up with Laura, Katie and Kristy who had left the flat earlier to see the Changing of the Guard (which I had already seen with my parents). We decided that while it was very chilly, it would be a perfect day to take our sight-seeing pictures of our favorite places in London since it was such a beautiful blue sky day (I cannot believe the sun came out the minute B and Ike left… ugh! Figures….). We met at Saint Paul’s Cathedral to take exterior shots of the architecture, and after a bit of circling around, finally decided to eat a hearty lunch at our favorite café Pret-A-Manger – I just love their hot Spicy Ragu Meatball wrap J. We sat in Pret talking for over an hour about our experience and how it was all coming to an end. We reminisced about stories and talked about what we were looking forward to most about going home – and of course what we would miss here.

 

After lunch we walked to Leather Lane (a market street open daily right off Chancery Lane) but it was already closing down. So after looking in a card shop, we got on a random bus heading toward King’s Cross Station and took some pictures of the city as we passed it from the top of our beloved double decker. We got off at the train station, took pictures, and got on the tube back toward Piccadilly Circus. We took more pictures of the Christmas lights lining the streets as it was getting dark, and walked through to Leicester Square. Here, we stopped in a London gift shop and then got the tube back to Holbourn to eat with all the Elon students, Brooke (our faculty advisor) and her family, as well as our internship coordinators Leslie and Emma for a big pancake breakfast.

 

The restaurant was called The Old Dutch and it had a special 5 pound pancake night – but by pancake they really mean a very thin crepe – thin but MASSIVE, like the size of a medium pizza! I got a savory crepe with ham, chicken, cheese, and some other delicious toppings, but the whole experience left me feeling bloated and unsatisfied. In a food coma, we headed back to the flat, and I got all dolled up for my big night out with Robert to see Gordon perform in a benefit concert to support the fight against Aids called, “Elegies: Angels, Punks and Raging Queens.”

 

I rushed to meet Robert and Will (his friend who works for a casting director) outside the Palace Theatre in Leicester Square and we headed to a cute restaurant where we had wine and bread and chatted about life. The show did not start until very late – just after 11pm. After waiting outside in the cold in line and meeting up with more of Rob’s friends Adam and Stevie G, we got settled in the back standing up by the bar area, and the show began.

 

The event itself was a concert version of the musical about people living with and dying from HIV and Aids. The lineup was a series of songs and monologues performed by industry professionals, including three of our clients and my very own and the very talented GORDON COWELL! He was so fantastic and I was like a proud mama watching him up there doing his thing. Leanne also sang (our client who plays the lead in Hairspray) and she was amazing. Robert’s roommate and our client Sandra who is also in Hairspray sang and took down the house. It was a very entertaining evening with laughs and really touching moments on stage. I was very proud to feel a part of a community supporting individuality, accepting and living with an incurable disease and uniting in our differences.

 

I got home at about 4 am, so it was a very long night! This morning was our last day of classes, so I woke up and got ready for my last day of school here in London. Theater class was simply a wrap up of our favorite elements of each show we saw this semester. We also had a fantastic speaker come in and talk to the class about his experience as an actor and director of Shakespearean literature. He was very entertaining and involved us in the discussion, which was great.

 

After, we had our history trivia quiz, which counted for 25% of our grade. Since I got an A on the first three papers) making up 75% of my grade) and everyone has collectively decided it was going to be a joke, I did not study – no one did. Except when we arrived at class it was not quite the joke we had expected – it was actually pretty competitive between the teams and asked us to recall full on detailed information. Let’s just say our team did not do well… at all…. The DeGaulle’s Dolls as we called ourselves should have been names DeGaulle’s Dim-witts because we clearly did not retain very much from the class. But in the end, he gave me an A for my final grade since my papers were so good, so I slipped through the cracks on that one. Plus, I was only on five hours of sleep, so I was not able to easily reach my top intellectual peak – who am I kidding, I wouldn’t have known pop squat regardless.

 

The relief of resolving my grade was followed by some Internet time in the classroom sending emails and checking up with everything. Then I headed back to the flat. On my way Rob called and invited me to go see the press night of Carousel. I of course said yes, even though I am not a huge fan of the production – Elon did it my freshman year. I had a quick dinner at home, and then headed to Charring Cross. I finally met up with Rob after figuring out that we had miscommunicated where we were meeting, but we got to the theatre just in time. The show was okay – the sets were incredible, but I am not a big fan of the music. Rogers and Hammerstein really just don’t do it for me, but I am still glad I was able to see it.

 

After the show Rob and I went to McDonalds and I got a McFlurry – I wish it were Kit Kat, but I think I missed the boat on that special. I took the tube back home and met up with Kelsey, Katie, Laura, and Kristy, as well as some other girls from Elon – Morgan and Elyse, and we all went to Sport’s Café to dance. It was not my favorite night, but the music was okay. The crowd was just really sketchy – some creepy guys there tonight. But we had to go out and celebrate Britney Spear’s birthday, of course, and let’s just say when “Slave For You,” came home, the place went crazy.

 

And that is all – we are officially caught up J. While it may not be the most creative, I am sleepy now (oh 2 am….how you’ll hurt in the morning), so it is time for me to go to crash. Miss you all and cannot wait to see you in less than a week! Woah……

 

Love and hugs,

Jenny